My Dean is 4
by zz5
Summary: Sam and Dean just finished up a witch hunt. They had the witch cornered but she managed to hit Dean with a spell before Sam killed her. And I guess the title of this story makes a pretty good summary for itself, so read on if you're interested to find out how Sam and Mary react and interact with a young Dean trapped inside his adult body!
1. Chapter 1: Meet WeeDeanWinchester

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural**

 **Fun fact: This story is partly (the witch part) inspired by 12x11 "Regarding Dean" and its title is inspired by 12x01 "Keep Calm and Carry On" where Mary said: "My Dean is 4 years old" at the start of the episode.**

 **The setting of this story is in season 12, after Mary left the bunker at the end of 12x03 and before she started working with the BMOL.**

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My Dean is 4

Chapter 1  
Meet Wee!DeanWinchester

Back story: Sam and Dean just finished up a witch hunt. They had the witch cornered but she managed to hit Dean with a spell before Sam killed her.

* * *

"Hey, you feeling alright?" Sam asked Dean as they travel back to the bunker. "The witch did hit you with a spell back there."

"I feel normal. And we snuffed the witch so the spell must've been broken, whatever it was," Dean replied.

They got back to the bunker and the both of them immediately went to crash in their respective rooms for a much-needed rest.

Hours went by and Sam got up first. He grabbed a coffee from the kitchen and automatically went to sit by his laptop at the war room, surfing the net for any clues on Kelly's whereabouts.

Just then, the bunker's door is being unlocked and Sam looks up to see Mary coming through.

"Mum, hey! You haven't dropped by in a while," Sam greeted cheerily.

"Hey, Sam," Mary smiled at her younger son as she comes down the stairs. "How's it going?"

"Mum?" Dean appeared across the library.

"Dean! Hey, I..." Mary's sentence was cut short as Dean literally ran across the room and caught her into a crushing hug.

"Oh! It's good to see you too," Mary said in surprise at the overly enthusiastic greeting by her older son. "Erm, Dean? Can't breathe..." Mary reminded as Dean prolonged the tight embrace with no intention of letting go.

What happens next is beyond anyone's expectation. Dean started crying. His whole frame is shaking uncontrollably and he is apparently making no effort to contain his tears.

"I...I thought... you were gone...!" Dean said in between broken sobs.

Sam and Mary exchanged an exasperated look. Both of them are at a complete loss on this sudden emotional outburst. Perhaps Sam more than Mary, as never in his entire life, has he seen Dean acting this way.

"There...there was... fire... everywhere... Our house... I am so...so scared and Dad... Sammy was... crying..." Dean continues to blabber.

Then, Sam suddenly made the connection.

"Mum... I think it's the spell that the witch had hit Dean with - we just came back from a witch hunt - looks like it didn't break when we killed her," Sam reckoned.

"What kind of spell?" Mary asked.

"I don't know," Sam replied.

"Dean, hey sweetie, let me look at you," Mary said and Dean finally lets go, though still trembling with tears.

Mary guides Dean to one of the chairs while she sits down beside him, holding his hands throughout in a reassuring way. Dean's eyes have not left Mary's face for a second, as though afraid that she will disappear if he looks away.

"Dean, what is the last thing you remember? Mary asked in a slow, clear voice.

"I... um, woke up... in a room over there," Dean pointed to the back of the bunker. "And I heard voices outside and... it's really you, mummy! I...I missed you so much!" Dean started crying again.

Sam and Mary exchanged another look.

"Erm, Dean? How old are you?" Mary asked. Dean raises his right hand to show four fingers while he continues wailing.

"Shh... It's ok, baby, I'm here now. Mummy's here..." Mary places one hand against Dean's cheek to let him feel her presence and Dean tilts his head as he leans against her palm, slowly gaining control of himself.

"Dean? Do you remember where you were before you woke up here?" Mary asked gently.

"I was... in our car, with Dad and Sammy," Dean recalled and he suddenly gasps in excitement. "Dad will be so happy to see you, mum! He always looks so sad after you left..." Dean said and Mary's eyes sadden at the thought of what John and Dean had to go through after her death.

"Daddy went to work, he'll be back soon," Mary lied.

"Oh," Dean replied. He finally stops crying and begins to be more aware of himself. "Mum? I feel funny. I sound like Dad and... the ground looks far away... and my hands grow bigger..." Dean said in confusion. It seems like Dean hasn't had a chance to look into a mirror yet.

Mary looks towards Sam, who is gawking blankly at Dean, and her mind quickly worked something up as she explains: "Dean, you see, something happened while you were sleeping. A witc... An angel, came by and turned you into an adult."

Dean's eyes widen in wonder. "An angel made me a grown-up?" He repeated innocently.

"That's right," Mary encouraged.

"Awesome," Dean wowed as he checks himself out, stretching his adult arms and legs. Kid Dean had no problem at all accepting that an extra-terrestrial being had magic-ed him into a grown man.

"Mum, who is that?" Dean suddenly registered another presence in the room, having been too occupied with Mary's reunion earlier on. He eyes the stranger a little warily as Sam is still gawking at Dean like a moose caught in a car's headlights. Dean automatically moves closer to Mary.

"Oh, this is Sam, Dean. Your brother, Sam. The angel that turned you, he er... turned Sam too," Mary decided to go along with her previous story.

"Hi, Dean..." Sam said tentatively. He is still a little dazed by this unexpected turn of events.

"He is Sammy?" Dean stared at Sam in amazement, trying to see the connection between this giant man and his baby brother. Then, he let out a sudden gasp of comprehension.

Dean: "Mum, they heard me!"

Mary: "What... who?"

Dean: "The angels! I prayed to them to let Sammy grow up faster so we can play and they really did!"

Mary: "That's...that's great, honey."

Dean now stares at Sam with bright, wondrous eyes and Sam stares back - at this Dean that he had never known before.

"Anyway, Dean, how are you feeling right now? Do you feel any... pain or discomfort anywhere?" Mary asked.

Dean thought about it for a moment and he looks down as his hand moves over his tummy. "I'm hungry," he realised. Both Sam and Mary crack a smile.

"Lucky you, I've not come empty-handed," Mary told him as she unwrapped the bag that she had brought along to the visit.

"Pie!" Dean cheered at the sight of his favourite food.

"Yup and... hmm, I guess this is not for you anymore," Mary handed the carton of beer to Sam instead.

"You want anything to drink?" Mary asked Dean.

"Juice! Juice!" Dean replied.

"I'll see what we have in the fridge," Mary tried to get up but Dean stops her.

Dean: "No, don't go." Dean held on to her hand firmly. He still doesn't want to let Mary out of his sight.

"It's ok, mum, I'll get it," Sam volunteered.

As he walks towards the kitchen, Sam thinks about how bizarre this one little witch hunt had turned out. It doesn't make any sense though, why did the witch cast a spell on her would-be killer, just to turn him into a child? And also, most importantly, why didn't the spell break when the witch died? Dean can't just stay as a four-year-old for the rest of his life... Sam opens the fridge and his eyes fall on the only non-adult juice there is.

He gives an impulsive smile as he remembers adult Dean's reaction when he had seen it in their fridge: "What, rabbit food not enough for you? Now you've got rabbit juice too?"

Sam went back out with a glass of carrot juice in his hand. Dean has already started on his pie and is chewing happily while kicking his feet in excitement under the table.

Sam always know that Dean is a messy eater and had thought that he couldn't get any messier, but that's before he met young Dean, of course.

"Sammy, try this! It's yummy!" Dean digs a huge spoonful of pie and held it in front of his brother's face.

Sam's first thought was to decline the offer as he usually would but as he looks into the eager eyes of young Dean, with pieces of pie littered across his cheeks, his heart swayed.

"Mm... i's go-od," Sam said, with his mouth full of pie. Dean grinned widely and continues stuffing his face with the simple delicacy.

"Mum, I need to talk to you for a sec..." Sam said after he swallowed and the two of them went into the library while Dean remains in the war room, still within sight of each other.

"Sam, you said you killed the witch that cast the spell?" Mary asked in a quiet voice.

"Yes, I did. We even burned her body, I'm sure the witch is dead. I...I don't know why the spell's still working..." Sam whispered back, sounding worried.

"How else can we break the spell if the witch is already dead?" Mary sighed.

"I don't... Rowena." Sam suddenly remembered – if there is anyone who can help them with a witchy, spell problem, it will be her.

* * *

 **Hi! This is my third few-shots! I'm less than half-way through writing this fic, so I can't say for sure when I'll be posting the next few chapters. Hope I can finish it during this hol though, despite being busy with internship and stuff~**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 2: As a Mother**


	2. Chapter 2: As a Mother

**Previously on Chapter 1: Meet Wee!DeanWinchester…**

… **if there is anyone who can help them with a witchy, spell problem, it will be her.**

 **Hi! Sorry for the long wait, I usually finish at least the first draft of the entire story before posting anything, but not this time for some reason… Anw, sorry in advance for the next long(er) wait too ›.‹**

* * *

Chapter 2  
As a Mother

Mary: "Rowena?"

Sam: "She's a witch – a powerful, witch. She may know something about this, I'll give her a call..."

Sam whips out his phone and quickly put Rowena on dial.

Clang! Phink!... The sound of glass breaking as it hits the floor comes from the war room and Mary immediately rushes back to Dean while Sam stays on the phone. He can see from the library that Dean has accidentally dropped the glass of carrot juice that he has brought him earlier on.

"Oh ohh..." Dean said softly, peering up at Mary with a guilty look on his face, as though expecting a scolding.

Mary stares at his elder son, with pieces of pie decorating his face and stains of carrot juice down the front of his shirt; all the way to his jeans. The floor around his chair is spread with the orange carrot juice and pieces of broken glass.

"I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean it..." Dean apologised nervously.

"It's ok, Dean, it's ok... Just stay in your seat, alright? Don't move your legs, you might step on the glasses," Mary told him before rushing away to come back with a rag and a bin.

Just then, Sam ended his call too and came over to see Dean sitting helplessly in the chair, trying his best not to move even a muscle while Mary picks up the broken glasses on the floor. He immediately goes to help out with the cleaning while updating Mary about the phone call.

Sam: "Rowena said she'll make her way here, but it'll take couple hours, at least."

Mary: "Hope she'll know what to do."

Sam: "Yea, I hope so too..." In the meantime, they'll just have to look after kid Dean and makes sure he's Ok till then. Shouldn't be that hard… right?

After picking up most of the broken pieces, Mary straightens up and takes a look at her four-year-old, with carrot juice sticking all over him that he even smells strongly of carrot juice now.

"I think you'll have to wash that off," Mary assessed the state that he's in - both his shirt and jeans are sported with large patches of juice stains, not to mention crumbs of pie around his face and collar.

"Ok," Dean nodded and reaches out to hold one of her hands.

Mary looks at him in confusion while Dean looks back expectantly. Then, realisation hits her.

"Oh. You haven't... learnt to shower yourself when you were four..." Mary uttered out loud. Now this is awkward. What do you do when your four-year-old son, in his full-blown adult form, needs help showering?

Sam stood up then, leaving the rag on the floor among the spill.

"Mum. I, er... I'll take him from here," Sam came to the rescue just in time to save the mother in distress.

"Yes. That will be best..." Mary readily agreed.

"Come on, Dean," Sam said. However, Dean is not as agreeable.

"No, I want Mummy~," he whined and held on even tighter to Mary's hand, his eyes shining with child-like innocence as they peer up at Mary dependently.

"You.. want..." Sam sputtered into silence. He still couldn't believe his senses that are telling him that right now, Dean is literally whining and acting like a spoilt child in front of Mary. And for all those times when Dean had teased him about his puppy-dog eyes - now Sam knows he is just as capable of unleashing that power himself.

"Dean, Mummy needs to mop the floor. Sam will clean you up, ok?" Mary told him gently. Dean gave a small frown at Mary's words, his pleading eyes now mixed with a little bit of panic.

"I'll be right here when you're done. Ok, Dean?" Mary added, correctly interpreting his concern.

"You'll stay right here? You won't go anywhere?" He repeated anxiously.

"Yes, I'll wait right here for you," Mary reassured him.

"We will stay together forever, right? You won't leave me ever again?" Dean looks intently into Mary's eyes.

"Yes, Dean... I won't leave you again," Mary replied. How could she say otherwise, when faced with such outright reliance and dependency?

"Promise," Dean held up his right pinky towards Mary.

"Promise," Mary twitched a smiled and hooks her own pinky to Dean's, which finally puts his mind to rest.

Sam smiled too, a small sad smile at the pinky promise that won't come true, as he knows that Mary will probably be going off on her own again after Dean recovers...

"Come on, Dean," Sam said again as he helps Dean up by the elbow.

"Don't step on the puddle," Mary cautioned as Dean stood up.

Mary watches as Sam guides Dean towards the bathroom while Dean chatters away.

"Sammy, you're so tall!" Dean noticed. "And your hair is really long..."

"No.. Dean..! Ow, don't grab...!"

Their voices trailed away as they went further into the bunker. Mary stands in the war room, alone, her eyes fix on the spot where her sons went out of her sight. She had been extraordinarily calm and composed for the past half an hour since she got here, despite all the craziness that was thrown at her in the most unexpected way.

However, truthfully, on the inside, she is anything but calm. Her Dean is back. Not the adult Dean which she knows almost nothing about, but her little boy, Dean. The Dean that she had known and missed ever since she came back... A small part of her, the selfish and fanciful part, wishes that Dean would just stay this way, as her sweet little four-year-old. But Mary, as a hunter, knows that the spell needs to be broken; that it will be in Dean's best interest to break it; that it will be too dangerous, hence necessary for him to return to his real mental age, in accordance with his physical one. And Mary, as a mother, will want what she believes is best for her son.

As Mary cleans up the mess on the floor, she begins to reflect...  
Ever since she came back, she has been feeling lost, confused and even depressed. She knows in her mind that the two men standing in front of her are really her boys, Sam and Dean, but she can't seem to feel the connection of a mother and child. And maybe because of that, she hadn't been acting much like a mother to them either...

She tries her best to act naturally but there's always that awkwardness existing between them. In addition, there has been this constant gnawing at the back of her mind that haunts her, especially when she is with her boys. It keeps on reminding her, of how she had failed; of how the one deal that she had made with Azazel all those years ago had cursed her whole family; of how her sons grew up in a way that she had most dreaded it to be... She knows that she loves them and yet it feels wrong to be with them and faces them like nothing happened... like she deserves to be called "mum". She couldn't wrap her head around it and she couldn't make sense of her own emotions and that's why... that's why she left.

It has been a few weeks since she moved out of the bunker in order to "find herself". But now that she thinks about it, has she actually been too selfish? Between staying and leaving, is the latter really what's best for her sons? She is the mother of her young sons but isn't she still the mother of her adult ones? Why is it that she only becomes the selfless mother with young Dean? She still remembers the look on their faces on the night that she left - like abandoned puppies on the street... She has been prioritising her own needs and feelings for the past few weeks, is it time for her to finally be a mother again, whether or not she deserves to be?

Mary goes to sit at the library table after she had cleaned up the war room, waiting for Dean to finish his shower, as promised. She rests her elbows on the table while burying her face in her hands, mulling over things...

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 **Fun fact: When this story first came to me, I got pretty annoyed - with good reason. It was the night before my exams (last 2 papers) and I had a morning paper the very next day so I went to bed super early - before 11pm - and I wasn't even trying to think Supernatural but this one just invaded my mind.  
** **I was like nooo I need to sleep, but of course, it took on a life on its own as it got stuck in my head, and I watched it play in my mind's eye. I didn't get up and write it down just then - I was having an internal battle the whole time trying to just** _ **stop**_ **thinking about it. In conclusion, I slept at 2am that night.  
** **Ps: Surprisingly, I didn't feel any more tired than usual the next day (well, technically it was the same day but you know what I mean~)**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 3: Post-Shower Trouble**


	3. Chapter 3: Post Shower Trouble

**Previously on Chapter 2: As a Mother…**

… **She rests her elbows on the table while burying her face in her hands, mulling over things…**

 **Thanks all for reading and waiting~ And thanks Kathy for reviewing the first 2 chapters! :)**

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Chapter 3  
Post Shower Trouble

"Mum!" Dean's voice reaches her before he did. Mary looks up expectantly and a loving smile spreads across her face involuntarily, all her worries temporarily pushed aside.

"Dean! Erm, where's Sam?" Mary asked as Dean bounces into view, with his hair still dripping wet and wrapped around in a single dark grey bathrobe that was left in the bunker by Men of Letters of the past.

"Dean!" Sam appeared at the entrance of the library looking a little out of breath, with a dry towel in one hand and pieces of Dean's clothing in another. Strains of his hair are also sticking to his face and his clothes are at least 60% drenched.

"I told you..*pants* to wait for me in the bathroom!" Sam berated. Apparently, Dean had slipped out of the shower room when Sam went to grab him a fresh set of clothes.

"Come here!" Sam commanded irritably as he shifted everything to one hand and tried to grab Dean with the other. However, Dean dances out of the way and cleverly positions himself behind Mary, using her as a human shield to avoid capture by his little brother.

"Stop it, Dean! Seriously!" Sam exclaimed as Dean skips from side to side when Sam tried to seize him by reaching around Mary. Meanwhile, Dean is just chuckling away madly at his new-found game.

Then, in one swift motion, Mary spins around and grasps a hold of both of his wrists. Dean struggles lightly to break free but Mary pins them down securely, sticking his arms to the sides of his body. Dean gave up after 2 seconds and stood there obediently, with a goofy smile on his face and one of his robe's sleeves falling off his shoulder.

Mary smiled back at him in a way that translates to: "I got you now~".

"You have to dry your hair and dress up before you catch a cold, Dean," Mary told him in a reasonable tone while he simply giggles away in response. Mary flashes him another endearing smile and then hands him over to Sam, who grips him firmly by the arm and drags him to one of the rooms at the back of the bunker. Mary follows them to the back but goes into the kitchen instead, to put the beer bottles in the fridge (in case Dean knocks them over).

* * *

"Muuum! I'm done!" Dean runs into the kitchen, fully dressed, with a towel draped over his neck. He stands proudly in front of Mary, with his head held high, as though expecting a praise for finally getting dressed up so nicely.

"Hey!… Where's Sam?" Mary asked for a second time when Sam did not appear after Dean. "Did you run out on him again?" Mary guessed.

"Sammy said he has to change his clothes too, because of me," Dean announced guiltlessly.

Earlier on, Sam had made the unfortunate mistake of handing Dean the shower head. Although he quickly realised that it was a very wrong decision-making on his part, and had wrenched the showerhead out of Dean's hand as soon as possible, the damage was already done.

"Right," Mary replied understandingly, remembering the sodden state that Sam was in. Speaking of which, even though Dean's hair is no longer dripping wet, it is still rather damp. Noticing this, Mary picks up the towel on Dean's shoulders and attempts to dry it further. However, the simple gesture has proven to be more difficult to perform than in the past, as her little boy is the complete opposite of "little" now and Mary has a hard time reaching for his head, that is about one head above hers.

"I'm taller than you now, mum!" Dean stated the obvious as he bends his head lower for Mary's convenience.

"You sure are…" Mary agreed and she wonders - when did that actually happen? Was it when he was 15? Maybe 16? It hits her once again, just how much she had missed out – their whole lives, in fact.

As Mary is shuffling the towel through his hair, a "brilliant" idea shot through Dean's mind. Now that he is taller than Mary, is he stronger than her too?

"Oh!" Without warning, Mary is lifted off her feet. She didn't even have any time to react, being completely taken off guard.

"Dean! Put me down!" Mary gasped.

"Mum, look! I'm stronger now too!" Dean whooped in delight as he twirls on the spot. Mary clutches on to his shoulders as she wobbles dangerously in mid-air.

"Mum!" Sam walked into the kitchen just in time to receive another shock for the day. He quickly dashes forward and brings Mary back to earth.

"I can carry you, mum!" Dean declared proudly.

"I realised..." Mary is still a little breathless from her "off the ground" experience.

"Dean! Don't do that again!" Sam scolded.

Dean crosses his arms and eyes him a little unhappily. He doesn't like the tone that Sam is using on him. Who is he to lecture him like that? And who, does he think, is the big brother around here?

"Bet I can carry you too!" Dean proclaimed out of the blue, as he charges towards Sam.

However, Sam has got plenty of reaction time, unlike Mary. He easily dodges the incoming big brother and, at the same time, sends him crashing into the counter behind them. Dean is alright, but the kitchen counter is a bit of a mess now.

"Dean... stop," Sam told him sternly.

But Dean's eyes glint with a devilish spark while his lips curls up in a competitive smirk - it's game on.

The huge 4-year-old picks himself off the counter and turns around to face Sam. He is just about to lunge again when Mary came in between them.

"Guys, that's it! No playing in the kitchen. Take this somewhere else." Mary became aware of the environmental hazards after the casualty of the kitchen counter. She gestured for Sam to leave first while she blocks Dean from "attacking".

Once Sam is out of the hazardous area, Mary relaxes her stance and Dean bolts out after his brother.

"Dean, you don't have to do this. I don't want to hurt you," Sam cautioned as Dean catches up with him along the empty corridors. There are no tables, chairs or forks and knives over here, but the concrete wall is plenty solid.

All of a sudden, Sam has a weird flashback of demon Dean - chasing him along these very corridors. He seems to remember saying something along this line too during that blood-chilling experience of a cat and mouse (or squirrel & moose? XD). No doubt, the déjà vu is due to the similarity of the situations, though in a very different context.

In both cases, there is Dean, in a different version of his usual self; and in both times, the alternate Dean is going after Sam inside the Men of Letter's bunker. The greatest difference, most fortunately, is that while the threat is real with demon Dean - with his attempted murder; kid Dean just wants an attempted "pick-me-up".

That being said, Sam is still not so thrilled with being carried by his volatile, four-year-old of a brother, who can't even dress himself without sticking his arm through the hole of his shirt where the head is supposed to go.

"Ok… I get it. I know you can carry me. I really do. You don't have to prove anything," Sam tried to appease.

However, Dean's "challenge mode" is on and there's no stopping now. He pounces right at Sam; who quickly shuns to the side and again, by borrowing Dean's own momentum, swings him further down the corridor; where he loses his balance and goes rolling on the ground.

"I told you! Now, stop!" Sam shouted as Dean jumps up from the ground, unscathed. The lights in his eyes are still sparkly bright.

Dean is a quick learner. Instead of rushing head on like the first two times, he becomes more cautious as he inches forward.

Meanwhile, Mary is leaning against the concrete wall, looking upon them with affection. So this is what it's like, to be a mother of two boys. Mary remembers how John used to play-wrestle with young Dean. Dean would rain his little kicks and punches onto John that barely tickles, while John would pick him up above his head; swung him around; and dunk him onto the bed. And Dean would be screaming in delight the entire time, always springing up, demanding for more.

However, Sam is having it much harder than John did. With the two brothers having comparable brute strength, Sam's skills are his only advantage - which should be more than enough, if they are in a real fight. The tricky part now is how to take him down without delivering any actual damage.

Honestly, Sam wouldn't mind giving Dean a bruise or two, but he's wary that his little big brother will start crying again - something that Sam is not keen to experience anymore with the current Dean. It was weird, uncomfortable, and downright freaky for Sam to see the adult-looking Dean breaking down like that. And above all, his devastating way of crying had affected Sam like it was contagious, causing an echo of Dean's pain and sadness within him too. This is why Sam has to be careful with handling his zealous kid brother, who is still coming at him untiringly.

Dean moves jerkily from side to side, feinting, to create confusion, and when closing in, he throws out both his arms in an attempt to trap Sam into a bear hug. Right before Dean makes his move though, Sam slides one step to the side and catches him by his forearm. "Got you!" He thought, but he spoke too soon. Dean twists his arm out of his grip in an instant, a move that Sam had not expect.

Although Sam obviously dominates in this playful brawl, Dean is putting up quite a good fight. Brawniness aside, his agile moves and quick reflexes are definitely beyond the capacity of a normal 4-year-old. This is probably due to the muscle memory ingrained into that body of his, from years of training and combat experiences, such that even when his memory fails, his body still remembers.

Thus, it took longer than anticipated, but Sam finally got him pinned down onto the floor.

* * *

 **Writer's Random Rant: I realised from this chapter that it's harder for me to write action scenes compared to other stuff (like dialogues)** **›‹  
Also, there are so many times when I hope I can just pluck out the images/videos in my head and insert them into the story. You should see some of the expressions that I have for them in my head, they're so funny! XD  
Hopefully, you guys have a good enough imagination to see what's going on in here (no thanks to my mediocre writings) ~**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 4: Batman & Superman**


	4. Chapter 4: Batman & Superman

**Previously on Chapter 3: Post Shower Trouble…**

… **Thus, it took longer than anticipated, but Sam finally got him pinned down onto the floor.**

 **This chapter is inspired by  
** **1) Episode 9x15:** **#THINMAN (when Sam and Dean were reminiscing about how Sam (dressed up as Batman) had "jumped off the shed" and broke his arm after Dean (dressed up as Superman) "jumped first" and  
** **2) A YouTube video of a J2 panel where Jared was dressed up as Superman and Jensen as Batman (can't remember which con was that)**

* * *

Chapter 4  
Batman & Superman

"I can't get up!" Dean complained after struggling for a fruitless moment.

"Yea, that's kind of the point..." Sam muttered. "If I let you up, do you promise to stop?" Sam asked in a normal volume while sitting comfortably on top of Dean, who is trapped securely underneath him, belly to the ground.

"No! I can carry you! I'm strong!" Dean insisted.

"Ya, I know! But just because you _can_ do something, doesn't mean you _should_ do it," Sam explained the flaw in his logic, but young Dean has no interest in reason.

"Let-me-go-let-me-go-let-me-go...!" Dean demanded noisily, kicking his feet as he goes.

"Say you'll stop and I'll free you right away!" Sam raised his voice over Dean's holler, but Dean simply chants away, stubbornly refusing to back down.

"Sam, why not just let him be?" Mary stepped in at this point.

"What, let him carry me and swings me around?" Sam frowned at her suggestion.

Mary let out a quick sigh and she bends down beside Dean.

"Dean, will you do mummy a favour and let this go?" Mary asked. Dean lifted his head and glance up at Mary, and then he shakes his head.

"No. I'm strong," Dean repeated.

"We know, honey. We know you're really, really strong, we've already seen that in the kitchen. So, you don't have to carry Sam anymore, ok?" Mary requested.

Dean's expression fell by a little.

"I can carry mummy _and_ Sammy. I am strong now, I can protect you!" Dean said, loud and clear.

Mary fell silent, and when she looks up to meet Sam's softened eyes, she knew that he understood too. Dean wasn't just trying to prove that he is stronger than them; he was trying to prove, to them and to himself, that he is strong enough to protect them - his mother and his little brother. He is strong enough to keep his family together; to keep them from leaving ever again…

"Dean..." Mary strokes the side of his head, "How about this - I'll let you carry Sammy, but you can't.. shake him or run around with him," Mary glances at Sam before continuing, to which Sam gives a small nod of approval, showing that he is willing to go along with this. "Just pick him up and then put him down right after. Ok?" Mary proposed.

"Ok!" Dean agreed buoyantly.

Sam finally releases Dean, who scrambles to his feet. He fought the urge to fight or flight when Dean bounces towards him grinning radiantly, and he freezes in awkward stillness as Dean stumbles into his personal space; then he bends down, wraps his arms around; and heaves.

"Mum! Look!" Dean thrilled elatedly.

Mary places one hand on Sam's back to keep him steady while she praises: "Wow! My Dean is so strong."

"Ok... ok, let me down," Sam said briskly.

"Sammy is heavier than mum," Dean remarked after releasing him, and he continues to ask: "Mum, did the angels make a mistake? Sammy was so small last time but now he's heavier than mum and taller than mum and me, and maybe even dad!"

"Well, you were this little yourself," Mary leans her hand against her hip, "but look at you now, so big and strong..."

"Like Batman and Superman?" Dean immediately associated his two favourite characters with Mary's description.

"Exactly. My little superhero," Mary cooed at her little boy.

"Woo!~" Dean cheered exuberantly as he ran the length of the corridor and back.

"Sammy, Sammy! Let's play!" Dean held on to his hand as he jumps up and down.

"Wh..? What do you want to play?" Sam asked cautiously.

"Batman and Superman!" Dean blurted matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Sam replied, as he vaguely recalls from his short-lived childhood days, that Dean and he used to dress up as the two superheroes, running and jumping around all over the place.

"I have a really cool Superman cape and a Batman mask and -... Oh. They were in our house..." Dean suddenly remembered that all his toys had been destroyed in the fire. Both Sam and Mary tense up in response as they wait with bated breath for Dean's reaction.

Dean looks up at Mary, who peers back at him sympathetically, ready to offer her condolences. Dean goes towards her, and she half-raises her arms for an anticipated embrace. However, to their surprise, Dean stops right in front of Mary and picks up the towel on her arm. He then throws it over Sam's shoulder, tying a knot to secure it around his neck.

"It's ok Sammy... See, this can be your cape!" Dean improvised on the spot. "You look great, Sammy!" He beamed up at him.

How did Dean end up being the one comforting Sam when it was _his_ toys that were destroyed in that fire?!

"Thanks," Sam said, despite feeling slightly uncomfortable with a damp towel sticking onto him.

"Ok, we can start now!" Dean said eagerly.

"Er, how do you want to roll?" Sam asked.

"Roll?" Dean looked confused for a moment, then his expression clears and he said: "We can roll too if you want!" And he lowers himself to the ground and made to perform a forward roll. Literally.

"No, no, no!" "Dean, no..." Sam and Mary rush forward to stop him.

"I meant, how do you want to play," Sam clarified to the confused Dean.

"Oh," Dean finally understood. "Why are you smiling, mum?" He cocked his head to the side.

Sam glances at Mary and indeed, her lips are pressed into a thin line and she appears to be holding in her laughter - with difficulty. A rerun of the past few minute playback inside Sam's head and he broke into a smile like Mary's.

"Because I'm happy. To be here with you," Mary replied with one of the truths.

"Me too! We will always be together!" Dean declared. Then, he turns his attention back to Sam.

"You want to be Batman or Superman?" He asked.

"Whatever... Batman then," Sam decided, going along with his dark coloured towel-cape.

"Alright, Batman. Let's go!" Dean punches one fist to the air and "flies" away.

"Wait.. go.. where?" Sam ran after him blindly while Mary trailed behind them both.

Two corridors down, Dean sees Sam running beside him and he stops, giving Sam a judgmental look from head to toe.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

"Following you?" Sam had question marks all over his head. Then he notices Dean's flying pose. "Oh," he said, and half-raises his right fist in the air.

However, instead of being appeased, Dean gives a small sigh and said knowledgeably: "Sammy, Batman can't fly."

"… Right. Of course, ha, Batman can't fly. I knew that..." Sam replied awkwardly as he swiftly retrieves his fist that was in the air. And indeed, he, of all people should know, having broken his arm once due to this very ignorance.

Dean resumes his "flying" but stops once again as he frowns at Sam.

"What?" Sam exclaimed.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked again.

"Running? Batman can't fly, remember?" Sam replied.

"Yes, but Batman got Batmobile," Dean told him.

"Oh... right..." Sam replied and then muttered a "Why so serious?" under his breath before putting his hands on an invisible wheel.

"Nice one, Batman. I see you've turned on the invisible mode for Batmobile!" Dean enthused before zooming away and Sam let out a snort of amusement before he follows suit. It is just like the pie-feeding and the "pick-me-up" before, Sam couldn't stand to turn down Dean's energy and enthusiasm.

Dean leads the way aimlessly, running through the corridors. And then he stops in front of the bunker's dungeon.

"This is it, Batman!" He said before busting through the door.

"We're here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way!" Dean announces to the empty dungeon. Then, he begins swinging his fist, punching at the air. "Take this, you big bad thief!" He shouted.

"Batman, there's one getting away! Use your Batarangs!" Dean had one hand grabbing at his invisible opponent and another pointing at the wall.

Mary caught up with them just then and she stopped at the door of the dungeon, watching them from outside.

"Batman, your Batarangs quick!" Dean cried urgently when Sam just stood there uselessly.

"Batarangs..." Sam repeated and he pretends to pull one out from his back pocket. "Here," he held it out to Dean, who looks back at him with an open frown.

"What are you waiting for? Throw it!" Dean exclaimed.

Sam deliberated for a moment, feeling rather self-conscious about throwing a non-existent Batarang at a non-existent "big bad thief", moreover with Mary watching him at the side.

"Sammy?" Dean dropped his arms and turned around to look at Sam. "You don't know how to be Batman, do you?" He guessed.

"Uh, I..."

"It's ok, I'll teach you," Dean said soothingly.

"We can pick some weapons from over there..." Dean gestured to the various torture equipment scattered across the table in the dungeon.

"No!" Sam cried as he grips onto Dean tightly before he can move any closer to those dangerous tools.

"We don't need those. Let's go outside," Sam decided and yanked Dean out of the dungeon in a jiffy.

* * *

 **Not a Batman or Superman fan over here so had to do a bit of research for this chapter but yup it was worth the trouble~**

 **chosey, Rowena will make her first appearance in Chapter 6:)**

 **Writer's Random Rant: Why is it that when I press [shift] [2], the symbol doesn't appear? Haizz...›‹**

 **Coming Soon… Chapter 5: Big Little Brother**


	5. Chapter 5: Big Little Brother

**Previously on Chapter 4: Batman & Superman…**

… **"We don't need those. Let's go outside," Sam decided and yanked Dean out of the dungeon in a jiffy.**

 **Hi! Sorry for the long wait again, will probably not do such on-going write-and-post-stunt again cause gosh am I slow›‹ Shall revert back to "finishing at least the whole first draft before posting" for subsequent stories if there are any~**

 **Note: I was referring to episode 9x04: "Slumber Party" when I mention Charlie and her comment about Dean's "Batman voice". Also, I was remembering the Spn con when Jensen did his Batman voice while dressed up as Batman XD**

* * *

Chapter 5  
Big Little Brother

The family of 3 made their way to the library and sat around the table.

"Sammy, say something like Batman," Dean compelled.

"Uhhh, "I'm Batman"?" Sam uttered the first Batman quote that came to mind.

"Ok, say it like Batman," Dean instructed next.

"I'm Batman." Sam repeated with a full stop and feeling pretty stupid while he's at it.

"No, Sammy, that's not how he said it. I'll show you..." Dean unties the towel around Sam's neck and fastens it around his own. Then, his expression changes to one of seriousness and for a moment, Sam almost thought that Dean is back to normal. Almost.

"I'm Batman. You're Superman. And together we'll save the world," Dean made his voice deep and raspy - even deeper and raspier than usual - his Batman voice, as Charlie once called it. And Sam has to say, it did sound pretty spot on.

"Ok, now you try," Dean transferred the towel back onto Sam.

"Hey, Dean, why don't we do something else?" Sam suggested evasively after a quick glance at Mary, who is looking at him expectantly, her eyes bright with anticipation.

Dean thought about it, and said: "Alright! I'll teach you how to fight."

"You want to teach me how to fight?" Sam raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Ya, like Batman! Batman fights really well. And he got all those cool stuff like Batarangs," Dean rises from his seat as he prepares for combat.

"So we're doing "Batman versus Superman" now?" Sam said errantly.

"No. Batman and Superman are the good guys, Sammy. They'll team up to fight the bad guys," Dean explained patiently. Naturally, Dean wouldn't know about the movie that came out only the year before.

"Stand up, Sammy!" Dean tugged at his hand but Sam did not concede. Dean is going to be disappointed if he thinks that Sam will willingly go through the whole play-wrestle chapter with him all over again.

Even Mary is against the idea as she shakes her head at Sam. As much as she enjoys seeing her boys having fun, it is too dangerous, for both the bunker and themselves, when Dean not know how to control his strength.

"I don't want to fight," Sam said truthfully.

"We are not real-fighting. Don't worry Sammy, I won't hurt you," Dean reassured him, but he had it all wrong. It should be the other way around, actually.

"I don't want to do it," Sam repeated. It was arguably more exhausting to fight a young Dean than a vampire as there is no need to hold back with the latter, unlike with Dean. However, the 4-year-old is not too please with that response from his one and only playmate.

"Why~? It'll be fun~" Dean begins to whine as he swings Sam's hand from side to side.

Sam can't believe his ears. Did Dean just tried to whine him into.. play-fighting him?

"Dean.. Let's do something else, like, you know, sit down and chat," Sam suggested.

"No~ Sammy, play with me," Dean moaned as he stares at Sam pleadingly, he has not had his fill of fun and action yet to be sitting around.

And Sam can't believe his eyes. Is Dean really trying to use puppy eyes on him right now?! He should have had it patented.

"But, I don't..." Sam begins to waver in his resolve.

Is this perhaps what it feels like to be a big brother? You always end up giving in to your little brother no matter how ridiculous his requests? Also, you would always worry about him. You would feel the need to be around all the time to keep him from getting hurt.

Sam has always cared for Dean. And Sam knows for a fact, that Dean has been taking care of him; and worrying about him - since forever. But sometimes, or a lot of the times... he felt that Dean had been unnecessarily overly-protective. He was even annoyed; offended, at some point, thinking that it was due to a lack of trust that had Dean keeping him on such a tight leash. (This is not so much the case in recent years as both of them matured and become equally dependent on each other.)

But after interacting with young Dean for the past few hours, Sam feels that he can understand better now. It must be a big brother thing, to be constantly worrying about your little brother. And given their unique circumstance, it is no wonder Dean had seemed so much more paranoid, even more so than your regular older siblings.

"Dean, we don't have enough space here for you to play fighting, so we'll do something else, yes?" Mary interfered when she sees that Sam is losing the battle against young Dean, not that she could blame him though. She had found it hard herself, to not simply give in.

"I know! We can go to the park! There are big, empty spaces there for us to play anything!" Dean said.

"No, we can't go," Sam shot him down at once. There's no way in hell that Sam would let Dean out of the bunker in his current state.

"Why?" Dean questioned, naturally.

"Because..." _It's too dangerous._

"It's too far, sweetie," Mary jumped in to help again.

"We can drive there in our car," Dean didn't give up so easy.

"Daddy drove the car to work. Why don't we wait for daddy to come back, then we can all go together? You wouldn't want to leave daddy behind, right?" Now that is a surefire way to end this discussion - as daddy is never coming back.

"When is daddy coming back?" Dean asked persistently.

"Soon," Sam lied. It is ironic, in a sense, as this was exactly what Dean used to tell him in the past, when dad went out to hunt, for days at a time.

Dean lied to him all the time when they were young (and even when they're not so young), and he used to get really annoyed when the deceptions fell through. As he got older though, he knew that Dean was merely trying to protect him from those hideous truths. And now he realised once again, being put into those same shoes that Dean used to wear all those years ago, that lies may be a necessary form of communication when there is an innocent mind you want to protect.

Suddenly, the door sounds with a series of knocks, making both Sam and Mary jump in their seat.

"Daddy's home! We can go to the park now!" Dean assumed headily.

Sam and Mary exchanged a look, knowing too well that whoever's outside, it's definitely not the one that Dean is hoping for. Then, Sam remembers.

"I think it's her," Sam informed Mary as he stood up to go unlock the door.

"I'll go, you stay with mum," Sam said when Dean tried to follow him. The bunker is not as safe as it used to be since the British Man of Letters, and Sam will not risk any chance of putting Dean in harm's way, although he does have a pretty good idea who is standing behind that door.

* * *

 **I guess you all have a pretty good idea who's behind that door as well;)**

 **Writer's Random Rant: Right now, I have another half-done one-shot and am alternating between that story and this, and both stories are gonna be my longest fic yet for their respective categories (one-shot & few-shot)!~ Hope to finish them before school starts!**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 6: Aunt Rowena**


	6. Chapter 6: Aunt Rowena

**Previously on Chapter 5: Big Little Brother…**

… **and Sam will not risk any chance of putting Dean in harm's way, although he does have a pretty good idea who is standing behind that door.**

* * *

Chapter 6  
Aunt Rowena

Sam sees through the peek hole and as he'd expected, the redheaded witch is wiggling her fingers at him from the opposite side.

"Rowena, thanks for coming," Sam said in a somewhat stiff manner as the door screeched open noisily.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all~ We used to be a team, were we not?" Rowena replied generously as they descended down the stairs.

"Mum, it's not dad." Dean, who was standing at the foot of the stairs in anticipation, ran back to Mary's side when he saw that it wasn't John.

"You must be Mrs. Winchester!" Rowena thrilled warmly, spreading out both arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Please, call me Mary," Mary gave a polite smile and shakes Rowena's hand. She did not have a great impression of witches in general but if Sam trusts her, then she guessed she can too.

Meanwhile, Dean has tried to hide behind his mum in the presence of the stranger woman, although he wasn't very successful, being both bigger and taller than she is.

"Mum..." Dean pulled at Mary's arm, implicitly inquiring for the stranger's identity.

"Now, who do we have here, but one wee Dean Winchester?" Rowena turns her attention onto Dean, her eyes lit up with interest and curiosity. Dean sticks even closer to Mary as he glances shyly at Rowena.

"It's ok Dean, she's a friend, say hi," Mary prompted.

Sam purses his lips. It was a _very_ loose interpretation of the word "friend" but he decided not to comment just yet.

"Hi, my name is Dean Winchester," at Mary's request, Dean stepped half a step to the side and held out one hand hesitantly towards Rowena.

Rowena peers at the outstretched hand and breaks into an amused smile.

"Hello there, Dean Winchester," she reaches out to take his hand, "you can call me... _Aunt Rowena_ ," she said in a drawling voice, putting extra emphasis on the last two words.

""Aunt Rowena?" Really?" Sam couldn't keep his silence this time.

"I'm old enough to be your great, great, great grandmother, Samuel," she reminded him airily.

Sam shakes his head but kept from retorting.

"Um... Aunt Rowena?" Dean said and Rowena returns her attention back to him.

"Yes, my dear boy?" She grinned widely at his addressing.

Dean looks pointedly at her hand still holding on to his, that is trying to wriggle itself free.

"Oops," Rowena loosened her grip a little, before she remembers, "But I shall need this hand for a wee bit longer," and before Dean could give his consent, she held his hand with both her own in a firm clasp.

" _Vereal fesuyorl, i mancomd ouy. Vereal fesuyorl, ot Rowena eth trega!_ " Rowena chanted quickly and then closes her eyes as they roll backward into her skull.

Dean was too stunned to do anything besides giving Sam and Mary a bewildered look.

"Mmm... Interesting," Rowena finally releases his hand as her eyelids flip open.

Dean took a step back and sticks closer to his mum as he asked with furrowed eyebrows: "What was that for?"

"Oh, it's nothing, wee boy. Everything is just~ fine," Rowena said with a glowing smile that immediately triggers the suspicion button in Sam.

"No," Dean said and Sam stares at him in surprise.

"What?" Rowena too did not expect young Dean to see through her like how the older version would.

"No, I'm not a "boy" anymore. An angel made me a grown up," Dean informed her proudly. A look of understanding dawn upon Sam and Rowena - Dean had not seen through her lies at all.

"You thought it was Castiel who did this to you?" Rowena wondered.

"Who is Cas-tell?" Dean asked innocently.

"Castiel? The wee angel in his trench coat and destitution?" Rowena replied carelessly.

"You know my angel?" Dean's eyes lit up in excitement. He had not fully understood what Rowena just said, but he gathered that she knew of the angel who had answered his prayers.

"Rowena..." Sam broke off their conversation as he gestured for them to step aside.

"I'll be back in a flash~" she gave Dean a small pet on the cheek before following Sam further into the bunker. She could hear Dean trying to follow them but was held back by Mary.

"So?" Sam asked once out of ear-shot of young Dean.

"He is cursed - by a wicked spell. The witch must have been quite a handful, wasn't she? Nothing of my league, of course," Rowena added vainly, "but I must say it was some powerful magic."

"Wicked? I mean, I'm not a fan of this curse either but, why would such a powerful witch put a curse on her killer just to turn him into a kid?" Sam asked, not understanding.

"I believe it is because she did not manage to complete the spell," Rowena said.

"But I killed her. We burnt her body, shouldn't the curse have broken when she died?'' Sam asked in professional curiosity.

"Oh, don't you worry, Samuel! Aunt Rowena will fix him up and you'll get your big brother back, good as old,'' the red-head said evasively, "Though, I couldn't imagine why you'd want that. Personally, I prefer the new version hands down," she said, swiftly avoiding answering his question. "I will need ingredients to work the spell. Some, you will have in this hidey hole of yours, while others, I will have to do a little shopping for…" she continued before Sam could press on for more answers.

The two of them walk back to the library where Sam can get a pen and paper to jot down the things-to-get.

"What is this?" Dean asked as he walks over to Sam and Rowena.

"Shopping list," Sam answered shortly, still scribbling down the things that Rowena is spelling out.

"Do you have pie on it?" Dean squinted at the paper, misunderstanding the kind of "shopping list" that Sam is referring to.

"Didn't you just had one?" Mary reminded him, the image of Dean with his face stuffed with pie and in a state of complete bliss is not something to be easily forgotten.

Dean grinned a cheeky smile at Mary as he said: "More pie. I can eat all the pie in the world!"

"I don't doubt that," Mary replied humorously.

"Is that it?" Sam asked when he reached the end of the hefty list.

"Aye. And I'll need those in very precise amount. Better start "shopping" soon, Samuel," Rowena instructed.

"Aunt Rowena..." Dean called.

"Yes, my dear?" She flashes another savouring smile.

"Why do you keep calling him that?" Dean asked with a slight frown.

All three adults in the room exchange a look of incomprehension.

"Beg pardon?" Rowena said.

"Why do you call him Sami-el?" Dean clarified.

"Why? Because that's his name, of course!" Rowena laughed.

"No. His name is Sammy, not Sami-el," Dean told her in complete confidence. Sam looks at his brother with surprise. Did Dean really use to think that "Sammy" is his actual name?

"No no no, that is just a silly nickname you have for him. Samuel is his actual name," Rowena corrected him. "It is essential to have the full, given name of the person when you want to use it in a spell," she added as an aside, her eyes lingering on Sam for a split second longer.

Sam stiffens as he stared at the witch with wide, distrustful eyes - Did she try to make a spell with his name? To curse him? He won't be surprised even if she did, though. This is Rowena we're talking about.

"No, you are wrong, it's Sammy," Dean insisted.

"I'm telling you, it's Samuel, named after your grandfather. Ask your mother if you don't believe me..."

"Mum told me herself, it's Sammy!"

"It's Samuel~"

"Sammy!"

"Actually, it's Sam..." Sam tried to say but neither was listening.

"Well go ahead, ask her then, why don't you!..."

Mary looks expectantly at Dean, ready to tell him the truth, but he didn't need her to.

"I don't need to ask, I know!..."

"Oh, for the sake of ol' Chuck!" Rowena rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I guess you really are Dean Winchester - stubborn as you are..."

"Guys, enough!" Sam cut them off and then he turns to Rowena. "I'll get ready all these stuff and we'll wait here in the bunker. How long will you take?"

"Oh, I don't know… They are exotic spell ingredients, not exactly easy to come by - the tip of an Erumpent's horn; fairy dust of a cave-dwelling fairy; fresh blood of a virgin…"

"Wait. Fresh blood?" Sam said in alarm. Rowena rolls her eyes again like she couldn't care less.

"Relax! Just a dribble will do the trick," she specified for his sake.

"Oh, ok. Just don't… kill anyone," Sam warned.

"Aye, aye, whatever you say, Samuel~ (Dean: "It's Sammy!")" she said placatingly.

Sam continues to eye her suspiciously as she made her way out, he has a nagging feeling that the witch is not telling him everything.

At the top of the stairs, she gave a little wiggle of her fingers to signal farewell, which only Dean waves back in response. Then, the heavy door swings shut with a clang and the witch is gone.

* * *

 **This is the first time I have Rowena appearing in my story, and she is about as challenging to write as Crowley (Like mother, like son XD)~ Or maybe I'm just not that fluent in sass X)  
** **Luckily, I've re-watch till season 12 now, which helps a lot in refreshing my memories of Rowena as I wrote~** **#spnhiatusrewatch**

 **Sidenote: The spell that Rowena chanted was just a jumble of real English words~**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 7: An Important Lesson**


	7. Chapter 7: An Important Lesson

**Previously on Chapter 6: Aunt Rowena…**

… **the heavy door swings shut with a clang and the witch is gone.**

 **This chapter is longer than usual, enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 7  
An Important Lesson

"Do we have all of these in the bunker?" Mary leaned in to check out the lengthy list.

"Ya, these should be pretty standard stuff for the Men of Letters. We may need to do a little digging though, I'm not exactly sure where they are," Sam replied.

The three of them went to the room where most of the ingredients are stored. Sam and Mary went to work at once, shifting around bottles and sealed bags to check on the labels and matching them against their list.

Meanwhile, Dean stands in the room aimlessly, occasionally scrutinizing some bizarre-looking things kept in liquid-filled containers.

Suddenly, there was a loud gasp. Sam and Mary spun around just in time to see a bottle falling off its shelf. It made a dull "thud" when it bounces off the lower shelf and then continues to make its way down, along its designated route until - With the reflexes of a Winchester, Sam darts across the room; stretches out his long arms to intercept its pre-determined path; and with a much softer "thud", the bottle landed safely on his palm. Dean's eyes widen impressively at Sam's agile feat.

Then, there was the sound of a muted crack - a crooked line starts to appear inside the glass. There was a moment of tense stillness as they eye the growing line.

Fortunately, the bottle decides to stay intact, to the extreme relief of Sam Winchester. He had a good look at its content - filled with the carcass of a small, rat-like creature, floating in a greenish liquid...

"... I'll go.. deal with this," Sam said, as he held the bottle out of the room, careful not to apply extra pressure on the glass.

"Sorry..." Dean apologised in a small voice.

"Dean... don't touch anything else, ok?" Mary said in a sharp tone. It is not so much that she is annoyed at Dean, but more so at herself. How could she have been so careless? How could she have let Dean set foot into this room, packed-full of dubious objects that may or may not be poisonous - or cursed? What kind of a failure of a mother must she b...

"I... I wasn't touching it! I turned around an.. and it hit my elbow... and..." Dean flustered, believing that Mary's anger is directed at him. Mary let out a disappointing sigh at herself.

"It's ok sweetie, just be more careful now, alright?" Mary said in a gentler tone.

"Alright..." Dean replied apprehensively.

Just then, Sam returns, less the bottle of the dead carcass.

"Sam, why don't you and Dean go outside? I got this," Mary gave the list in her hand a little wave.

"Ya, ok," Sam readily agreed, realising, like Mary, the environmental hazard that this room possesses.

"Let's go," he said, pulling Dean out by the hand.

As Sam walks, he considers his options - where would be a safe place in the bunker for Dean to be in? The kitchen is out, obviously. Their rooms, maybe?

In the end, he decided on the library. Surely, it must be much safer to be surrounded by books than spell ingredients or kitchenware. Moreover, he can do up some research on this curse of Dean. At this thought, he turns around the corner and heads towards the library. It was then that he realises something seems a bit off.

"You alright?" Sam looked back at the brother that he is towing along, unusually quiet.

"... I think mum is mad at me..." Dean mumbled in a sad, muted voice.

"Is she?" Sam asked, surprised.

"Yea..." Dean sighed. He looks so down that Sam actually feels a little sorry for him.

"Hey, mum is not mad at you, don't over think it," Sam reassured him.

"Really?" There was a glimpse of hope in Dean's voice.

"Ya, she's just worried, you know, that you'll hurt yourself," Sam knew this because it was exactly how he had felt.

"Oh," Dean replied, his expression brighter already as he let Sam talk him out of it.

"Anyway, I caught the glass before it breaks so everything's cool.. good," Sam added as they reach the library. And that reminds Dean.

"Oh! Sammy, you were awesome!" He exclaimed out of nowhere.

"What?" Sam asked in confusion. It is really hard to keep up with young Dean sometimes.

"Just now! You caught the bottle when it was falling! Like Batman! That was awesome!" Dean praised excitedly.

"Oh, right..." Sam replied.

"I'll teach you more, then you can become a real Batman!" Dean continued saying.

"W... What?!" Sam cried, as he felt the hand around his tightened. There is a swift change of role between leader and follower as Dean pulled Sam to a more spacious bit of space in the war room.

Wasting no time at all, Dean begins to demonstrate his various "Batman moves" to his little brother, much to Sam's immense amusement. It is then that Sam has a "spur of the moment" idea. A mischievous smile playing on his lips, he whips his phone out from his back pocket.

"Hey Dean, do it again, I didn't catch that," Sam said while he points his camera at the very animated Dean Winchester.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

"I'm er... recording your moves. So I can study them," Sam lied - about the second part anyway.

"Oh, ok!" Dean agreed easily as he showcases all of his best Batman and Superman moves without any reserves.

Young Dean is ecstatic, misreading Sam's sudden interest as something less threatening than an impure motive. Not before long, he is jumping and running all over the place.

"Swords!" Dean spotted two long, shiny ones in the library as he was fighting off an imaginary opponent. They seem like perfect replacements for the old, plastic ones he used to have. Without giving a second thought, Dean reaches out one hand to grab his "new toys".

"Wait... No. No, don't touch...!" Sam threw his phone on the table and jumped up from his seat, but he was too late. He cringes as Dean wraps his fingers around the blade. Until this instant, Sam had totally forgotten about the two weapons lying innocently in the library. In his defence, he didn't see it so much as a weapon than an accessory. But of course, it is a weapon, and it is very sharp.

"Ah!" Dean releases the blade before fully lifting it up, withdrawing his hand as he felt a short, sharp pain.

Both swords fall noisily to the floor and as Dean watches, blood starts to leak from his wounds.

"Dean!" Two voices cried out simultaneously. Mary had just stepped into the library, with the ingredient list in her hand.

Dean gives a start at Mary's sudden appearance and instantly hides his bleeding hand to his back.

"I didn't touch it!" Dean blurted anxiously at Mary as they rush to his side.

Both of them raise their eyebrows at his blatant lie. It was such a sad attempt, even if it wasn't directed at the two very professional liars in the house. Mary takes his hidden hand, ignoring his resistant, and pulls it to the front. It is being clenched into a tight fist and bright, red blood is steadily dripping down from it.

"I'll get the bandage…" Sam hurried off to retrieve their first aid kit.

"It's ok, Dean, let me see…" Mary said gently as she coaxed him into loosening his fist.

When he spreads his palm open, five deep cuts can be seen, slashed across all five fingers, his entire hand now smudged with blood.

Sam comes back with the kit box in his hand and Mary led Dean to sit down at the table.

"We'll wrap them up and you'll be just fine," Mary reassured with a smile.

Sam hands Mary some cotton and other necessary materials to treat the wounds.

"This may sting a little," Mary warned before applying the solution.

As the liquid seeps into the cut, there is a sharp intake of breath and Dean's hand tensed against the pain.

"This is why I told you not to touch anything," Mary reminded him with an, "I told you so~".

"I didn't touch it! It's not me." Dean insisted, looking from the fallen swords to his mum.

"Really?" Mary asked rhetorically, a smile playing in her voice.

"Mhm…" Dean nodded definitely.

"Well… they couldn't have fallen by themselves – _somebody_ touched it. And it's only you and Sam in this room, so it must be one of you. So, did you touch it?" Mary asked. Dean furrowed his eyebrows at the cleverly phrased question.

If he answered "no", he will be wrongfully blaming this on Sammy; but if he answered "yes", it would mean that he had been lying to Mary about not touching the sword.

"Whoever did it won't get to eat pie for a hundred days~" Mary upped the stakes just that much higher. She must admit - she is having a little too much fun playing around with young Dean, but hey, that's part of the joy of being a parent, right?

"A hundred days?!" Dean's eyes widened in horror at such a harsh punishment. Right now, 100 is probably one of the largest numbers that Dean could even comprehend and a hundred days without pie seems to feel like a lifetime.

"Yup, one-hundred days," Mary double confirmed.

Dean looks at Sam, who has kept his silence; not even trying to defend himself. When Sam looks back at Dean with a curious spark in his eyes, he looks away, lowering his head and squeezes his eyes shut – deep in thought.

Mary gives a little sigh when the silence dragged on, even after she'd done bandaging all of his fingers. Dean is obviously taking this way too seriously and she is starting to think that maybe she'd gone too far. She was about to take back her words, to release Dean from his internal struggle, when he spoke.

"I did it," Dean said in a low voice.

"What?" Mary spouted reflexively, surprised by his sudden response.

"I touched it, and I made them fall," Dean finally raises his head to look Mary in the face as he confessed his deeds. "It's not Sammy," Dean added firmly, with a quick glance towards Sam.

"So, you admit that you touched the sword," Mary said.

"Yes… I'm sorry," Dean lowered his head again, looking properly abashed at having his lie exposed. (Only Dean believed that the lie was exposed by himself, when in fact, it had been exposed the moment it was spoken XD)

Both Sam and Mary stared at Dean's guilty form and they couldn't help but feel moved by just how innocent and kind-hearted this little Dean is.

Dean starts to pick at his new bandages idly as he engaged in an apologetic silence. Mary's eyes swivel to his injured hand and she is suddenly made aware of something – something important.

"Dean, hey, tell me," Mary lifted his head with the tip of her fingers, "what are you sorry for?" She asked.

Dean looks confused by her question, as it seems to have such an obvious answer to him.

"For touching the sword when you told me not to," Dean replied.

"Anything else?" Mary prompted and Dean bites his lips while he thinks.

"Erm... for lying about not touching it?" Dean wondered if he got the right answer this time and so did Sam, as he, too, had no idea what is Mary getting at.

What is the point of lecturing kid Dean about lying, or not following instructions? Both are pretty pointless, seeing as how Dean will soon be free from this curse. Moreover, given what they do, lying is definitely one of the basic job descriptions in their line of work.

"Dean, I'm not mad that you touched the sword, despite me telling you not to. I'm not even mad that you lied about it too," Mary told a confused-looking Dean (and Sam).

"But I am mad - that you tried to hide this," Mary held Dean's injured hand up by the wrist. Dean turns his head to look at that hand in surprise.

"Dean, listen," she said, and only continued after making sure that his eyes are on hers, "you cannot hide your wounds, ok? When you are hurt and in pain, you tell mummy, or Sammy, so we can fix you up and make you feel better, like this," Mary gave a light tap on his bandaged hand. "That's what family is for. So, you won't keep these to yourself anymore, promise?" And it is Mary's turn to stick out her pinky towards Dean.

"Promise," Dean held out his non-wounded pinky and hooked it onto Mary's. Then, he leans forward and wraps his arms around Mary's neck for a soft, comforting hug.

"I'm sorry," Dean apologised again, for the right reason this time. "Don't be mad, mummy, I'll be good, I promise," he said sincerely.

"You are good," Mary replied as she hugged him back.

Looking at the mother and son, Sam smiled to himself. Dean learned an important lesson today, and so did Sam.

* * *

 **Writer's Random Rant: Last day of intern yesterday~ And school is starting soon~›‹ Hope I can get my desired timetable for next sem!** **#freedayss**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 8: I Love You**


	8. Chapter 8: I Love You

**Previously on Chapter 7: An Important Lesson…**

… **Sam smiled to himself. Dean learned an important lesson today, and so did Sam.**

* * *

Chapter 8  
I Love You

"Sam, I wanted to ask you about this..." Mary picked up the ingredient list and went ahead with her original purpose for coming into the library.

"Wait here with Sammy, I'll be back soon, ok?" Mary told Dean after clarifying the quantity of dragon scales stated in the list.

"Yes, mum," he replied obediently.

"Maybe you can find a book with more pictures in them to keep him occupied," Mary tipped Sam, gesturing to the thousands of books among their midst. It will be much easier to handle young Dean when he is seated down instead of bouncing all over the place.

"Got it," Sam replied gratefully.

Sam pulls out a few books at random, searching for one with more colours and pictures in them. He smirks to himself as he thinks about the kind of "picture books" that Dean has had in his room right now. He is pretty sure that the taste for picture books differ for this Dean, and his older self.

In the end, Sam settled for one with detailed, coloured illustrations of various mythical beasts. Dean accepted the book eagerly and was finally still, sitting at the table as he flips through the pages. Sam got one for himself too, written on de-aging spells, and began to read through it. However, he was distracted before finishing even the first chapter.

"Whooa! Sammy, look, doesn't this look like Batman?" Dean shoves the book towards Sam and he sees a back view picture of a humanoid figure, with two pointed horns and what looks like bat wings.

"Yea, literally," Sam said with distaste while secretly hoping that they'll never have to hunt down this monster.

"Oh, and you know, Dad can do Batman really well. Better than me! I'll let him show you when he comes home," Dean said conversationally.

"He can?" Sam asked with honest surprise. He had no memory of John doing Superheroes impression of any kind, outside of real life scenarios.

"Ya! Our dad is awesome!" Dean said with pride. And this is a part of Dean that Sam can identify with. Even as they were growing up, John has always been his idol; his Superhero. And that got Sam wondering…

"Hey, Dean, I'm curious, who do you like better? Mum? Or dad?" Sam asked.

"I like them both," Dean answered without hesitation.

"I know. But if you have to choose one?" Sam pressed on. He feels like a jerk for asking, but he's genuinely curious.

Dean chewed on his lips again as he considers his answer.

"Mmm... Mum. Don't tell dad," he whispered dramatically.

"Of course," Sam promised, not like he could even if he wants to. It makes sense though, that 4-year-old Dean would pick mum over dad as it was primarily Mary who takes care of Dean, while John is at work.

"Who do you like better?" Dean asked him back. Sam was caught off guard by this return question, though he really should have expected it.

"Errr…" He has never thought about this question for himself before. He loves both his parents, certainly. But, in a way, both had let him down too... However, there is always one person in this world that he knows he can truly count on, no matter what.

"You," Sam said. Dean was startled for a moment at the unexpected response, as his question had only 2 implied options to choose from – mum or dad. And then he really registers the answer.

"Really?" His face lit right up, with a smile so bright it could light up the entire bunker. "You like me more than Mum? Than Dad?"

"Sure," Sam replied easily.

"I love you, Sammy!" Dean beamed at his big little brother, grinning so widely, it looks like his cheeks are going to split into two.

"M...me... too," Sam stammered in reply.

If this is just any other day, Sam would be slashing Dean with holy water right about now. Sure, there have been several occasions, usually during life or death situations, when Dean had told him how much he meant to him. But never in any of those times, did he actually say "I love you". Because that is just... not Dean - not with his "no chick-flick moment" and all.

This Dean, though, is a Dean that Sam never knew. This is the Dean who still not know that monsters exist; who still believes that all angels are nice and fluffy; who still says "I love you" and wears his emotions on his sleeves, showing them as they really are, regardless if they're sadness; fear; hunger; excitement; embarrassment; reliance; insecurity; guilt; pride; or joy.

Despite so, Sam could feel no distance or strangeness towards this Dean.

Because this is still the Dean who wants to protect his family and keep them together; who is a Superhero that is righteous and fights the bad and the evil; who is adamantly stubborn for (seemingly) insignificant matters; who loves his pie, but not as much as he loves his Sammy.

This is still the Dean that Sam loves and trusts.

Sam continues staring at Dean, who had returned his attention to his book, until Mary returns with a huge, cauldron-full of ingredients.

"This is it. Everything on the list," Mary said as she drops the hefty weight onto the table.

"What are these?" Dean reaches out towards the unrecognisable objects in the cauldron but got his hand caught by Mary's.

"Hey~ No touching, remember?" Mary reminded.

"Oops," Dean promptly retrieves his hand.

"What do we do now?" Mary looks to Sam.

"We wait for Rowena to come back," Sam said.

"Aunt Rowena? Where she went?" Dean cut in.

"Er, shopping," Sam told him again before turning back to Mary. "We can look up on some de-aging spells ourselves before she comes back," Sam held up the book that he was on.

"Ok," Mary agreed and pulls out some books from the shelves.

The three of them had some quiet, family reading time – for about 15 minutes.

"Mummy?" Dean closes his monster picture book and stretches lazily, making himself a slum on the table.

"Mmm?" Mary asked.

"Tell me stories," he requested, glancing sideways at Mary with his head lying on top the table and a finger tapping softly on the spine of her book.

Mary looks up from her read and meets Dean's bored-looking eyes.

"Hmm…" Mary flipped a few pages back. She had just read up on an example of a de-aged, old princess who'd made a deal with a witch, surely, she can spin something out of it.

"Alright, here goes… Once upon a time, in a palace, far, far away…" Mary began, making up the plot as she goes.

Sam, who can read perfectly on his own, continues on with his own book as Mary tells the story. Looking at the scene in front of him, it stirs up a certain emotion within, a weird feeling that isn't exactly pleasant.

It wasn't until 5 pages later that he realised with a start – it was jealousy.

He is feeling jealous of young Dean. He is jealous of how Mary treats Dean, with so much attention; and patience; and motherly love.

He is also jealous of how Dean treats Mary, of how he could act so freely around her, with no distance or awkwardness between them. Kid Dean could say things like _"I want mummy"_ and made her promise to not _"leave me ever again"_ , without feeling odd or embarrassed, like it is within his rights to ask those of her.

Those were what Sam had wanted to say, that night when she left…

 _Don't leave me… Mum… Please, stay…_

But he didn't say it. Neither did Dean. She needed space; she needed time, and they should have understand.

But kid Dean is different. He is not expected to understand. He can be wilful and demanding, and honest about his need for Mary to be there for him. He can have a mother. Sam wishes he can too…

"… and then they lived happily, ever, after. The end," Mary lays the book down on the table as she said the last line of her made-up story.

* * *

 **Writer's Random Rant: It is not always that obvious if there's a favourite line or phrase for me in a chapter, but with this one, it is clear as day~ ^^  
** **And apparently, I couldn't finish this story before school starts like I'd hope for but oh wellzz, I'm gonna finish it anyway;p**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 9: I'm Sorry**


	9. Chapter 9: I'm Sorry

**Previously on Chapter 8: I Love You…**

… **Mary lays the book down on the table as she said the last line of her made-up story.**

 **We've seen closure between Dean and Mary in 12x22 (when in Mary's head), so I thought I'll like to have it between Sam and Mary in this chapter~**

 **This chapter has made reference ( & has quotes) from  
** **1) Episode 1x09: "Home" and  
** **2) Episode 9x23: "Do You Believe in Miracles"  
** **3) Episode 2x17: "Heart" (Didn't exactly "quoted" it like the first 2, but I'll just put it here anw~)**

* * *

Chapter 9  
I'm Sorry

Sam looks up at the same time as Mary, and they see Dean lying on the library table, with his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open, apparently asleep.

He looks so peaceful; so precious, that they can't help but flash an affectionate smile. Mary raises her hand and so gently, trails her fingers through his hair on the side of his head.

"It must be really weird for you, isn't it?" Mary asked in a quiet voice. "Seeing him this way?"

"Yea… yea it is," Sam chuckled lightly, "and trust me, I've seen plenty of weird."

He paused for a second, and then continued more thoughtfully, "He never acted like this before you know, as far as I remember… Not with dad, not with… anyone…"

Hunters are never kids. Dean Winchester definitely never was, not after Mary left. Sam's childhood was short-lived too, but at least he had Dean around to rely on, to be the adult figure in his life when John wasn't around. That's why to see Dean as a child again; to see him cry and whine and act spoil, it is a first for Sam.

"Sam…" Mary shifted her entire torso to face her younger son. His hands, that are resting on the table, twitched hopefully when hers came towards him, but they stopped in between them and held each other instead. "I'm sorry," Mary said.

Sam paused for half a second as déjà vu washes over him and unexpectedly, he lets out a huff of laughter, gaining a confused look from Mary.

"That's the first thing you ever said to me," he reminisced. "Back at our old house. When you were a ghost."

"Ahh… Dean told me before, but I don't remember that" Mary admitted.

"Yea… you sacrificed yourself to save me from an evil poltergeist. I never thank you for that," Sam realised. "Thank you, mum," he said gratefully.

Mary shook her head painfully, "Of course I did - _of course I did_ ," she emphasized.

"You're my Sammy," her right-hand rises up to cup his left cheek. "It's a mother's job to protect her babies…"

Sam smiled, the warmth of Mary's hand touching not just his face but also, all the way to his heart.

"… but I didn't," the twist to the end of that sentence instantly changes the atmosphere in the room. And the hand on Sam's cheek shook a little before it drops, and clenches into a ball of fist. Mary swivels her eyes and fixes them on the empty chair beside, to avoid looking at the son whom she had failed to protect.

"Mum… It's not your fault, you didn't want to die…" Sam reasoned, thinking that Mary's guilt was merely due to her absence in their lives, thus not being able to protect them from the hunter's life that they had been brought up into.

But he was wrong. It wasn't merely her absence, but also, the _cause_ of her absence.

"No, it is my fault. It is my fault that I died. It is my fault that you had… I made the deal - with the yellow-eyed demon. I made the deal that started everything," the weight in her heart has finally been translated - into pain and guilt in her every word, this weight that had been weighing in on her ever since she came back.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry," Mary apologised with all her heart and soul.

After so many years, at last, Sam has had his question answered (he could have guessed it would be something like that, after Dean told him about their mother's demon deal from his little time travel adventure, but this is the first time that he hears it from Mary herself). _"For what?"_ , he had asked, when Mary apologised, that very first time she spoke to him. He reaches out to hold on to Mary's trembling hands, holding it tightly and comfortingly.

"Mum, it's ok," he said. "You know, Dean and I, and dad, we've made our fair shares of deals as well. And we didn't do it for fame, or… or money. We did it for family," Sam looked straight into Mary's eyes before he continues.

"If you hadn't made that deal, dad would have died, and Dean and I, we wouldn't have been born. … And you wouldn't have died," he added as an afterthought. "Mum, tell me, honestly - Would you rather not have made the deal, so you wouldn't have to give birth to me; so you wouldn't have to die?" He asked slowly.

"…What?! No, of course not!" Mary nearly shouted, sounding as though it was the most ridiculous thing she has ever heard.

"Right… right. And that's why - that's why you don't have to be sorry. The deal that started everything, it made us who we are. And Dean and I, we're proud of who we are," Sam told Mary heartily with a swift glance towards Dean. _"I'm proud of us,"_ was Dean's exact words.

A single, hot, tear brims from her eye and rolls down her face. What has she done to deserve such a kind, smart, understanding, and essentially, good son?

"I'm proud of you. I'm proud of both of you. Thank you, Sam. _Thank you_ \- for being you," Mary told him, and both of them went forward to give each other a big, warm hug. Sam breathes deeply as tears swim in his eyes in response to the emotional exchange.

"Mum?" Dean's sleepy voice broke the two of them hastily apart, and Mary tried to wipe away traces of her tears. He was woken up by their intense conversation and their unintentional jolting of the table when they went for the hug.

"Mummy, why are you crying?" Dean noticed despite her attempt at hiding. Panic mode sets in for the 4-year-old at the sight of his mother's tears.

"Don't be sad, mummy! Don't be sad, I'm here for you…" Dean fretted, looking stress, and lost. He wants to help but isn't sure how. And then he begins to tear up, despite not knowing the reason behind her tears.

"No… Baby… It's ok, I'm not sad," Mary gave him a watery smile and she reaches out to hold his hands. Dean stares intently at Mary's face, studying it, to see if she was speaking the truth. He decided that she was in the end, and his tears stayed put within those green eyes.

"Sammy, what did you do?" Dean turns to Sam now, the accusatory tone of his voice made it clear who he thought was responsible for Mary's distress. He wasn't exactly wrong, but it wasn't like what he had assumed.

"Wha… I.. I didn't…!" Sam struggled to explain himself.

"Dean, relax, Sammy didn't do anything," Mary came to his defence.

"Sammy made you cry," Dean stated with a tone of disapproval.

"Well… yes, but, they are tears of happiness," Mary explained. "I feel blessed, to have you two as my sons," Mary told Dean and she leaned forward to give him another hug.

Dean hugs her back, though he still couldn't understand - how can one feel happy _and_ cry at the same time? But he didn't press on about it, as long as Mary is happy, that is what really matters.

The 3 mother and sons spent their time together in the bunker for a few uneventful hours. Yet, still, it was precious time all the same. The walls are down, mostly, due to the heart-to-heart by Sam and Mary, so the awkwardness that used to be ever-present between them has faded noticeably.

Also, thanks to the presence of young Dean, his pureness, and straightforward manner made all their hearts more open, bringing them closer together. This is especially so for Mary, who, after making her 30-years comeback, had lost every single connection that she ever had with another human being. Young Dean has given her the comfort of an established relationship; a familiar human touch that she had needed so much in this now-foreign world.

* * *

"Rock, paper, scissors!" Dean recited loudly as he played the childish game with his brother.

"Dean, always with the scissors," Sam said smugly as he won the game once again.

"Nooo!" Dean yelled at his scissors-hand in exaggerated frustration, having lost three times in a row.

"Just play something other than scissors!" Mary told him, but it seems to be a difficult task for young Dean to perform (it was difficult to, even for adult Dean XD).

Dean had to do a dance forfeit in the end, which had both Sam and Mary laughing till their stomachs hurt. Sam has got his phone camera out again and he's having a really hard time keeping his hand steady for the video-taking.

It was after a few more jumping-around plus story-telling before Dean got tired again and then once more, he fell asleep on the table, this time sleeping deeply instead of a short nap like he had before. Because of that, the two adults in the room have a chance to read up on de-aging spells peacefully without interruption.

Sam and Mary had gone through about a dozen books before the door sounded, waking Dean up from his slumber, while Sam looks towards the door in surprise.

* * *

 **Guess who's back for next chapter! (Haha I know, it's too obvious~;p)**

 **And I was wondering as I wrote: Did Mary know that Sam has demon blood in him because of Azazel? If yes, when did she know about it? Drop it in the comments or pm me if you know the answers, thanks! (My memory is failing me›‹ Or did they not specify it in the show?...)**

 **dg. sangita,** **Yup I thought so too! Adult Dean wouldn't have said it as it is uncharacteristic for him, so I made young Dean said it instead~ XD  
Ps: I know there isn't a space in between your username but somehow the whole name will disappear(why?!) when I try to save it that way›‹**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 10: Wicked Curse**


	10. Chapter 10: Wicked Curse

**Previously on Chapter 9: I Love You…**

… **Sam and Mary had gone through about a dozen books before the door sounded, waking Dean up from his slumber, while Sam looks towards the door in surprise.**

 **Sorry for the super late update~ School is getting to me and it's barely half-way through the semester!›‹ Do expect a late update for next chapter too, thanks to those up-coming mid-term exams… Meanwhile, enjoy Rowena's revelation about the "Wicked Curse" in this new chapter~ :)**

* * *

Chapter 10  
Wicked Curse

"Rowena!? It's been.. barely half a day!" Sam exclaimed when he opened the door to find the red-headed witch smiling up at him, carrying a bulging bag, no doubt filled with spell ingredients.

"Nice to meet you too, Samuel~" Rowena said as she pushes past him and invites herself in.

"You got everything? Those… fairy dust in a cave and all?" Sam asked sceptically as he wondered wildly if there happens to be a fairy-dwelling cave in his near vicinity.

"Oh please! You can't seriously think that I'll go hiking for some fairy-infested cave, do you? All those dirt-filled earth and rocky grounds? Urg!" Rowena replied with a repulsed shudder.

"What? Then where do you get all these stuff?" Sam pressed on.

"I have my sources," Rowena said secretively as she curled her lips into a smug little smile. Unknown to most, there have been several abandoned cellars around the country where the ol' Grand Coven stashed their collection of rare spell ingredients. After learning that the Coven had collapsed, with its scattering members either dead or in hiding, Rowena the opportunist managed to break into those valuable storehouses and now, with all of those ingredients at her disposal, she could be, possibly, one of the "richest" witch alive in this modern world.

"Aunt Rowena, you're back!" Dean said welcomingly while Mary exchanged greeting nods with her.

"Yes my dear, you missed me?" Rowena asked.

"No!" Dean replied playfully, with a mischievous smile playing on his cheeks.

"I see there was no change with him while I was gone?" She inquired from Sam.

"No… Is there supposed to?" Sam asked warily.

"Oh, I don't know… Ah! I see you got all the ingredients ready. Attaboy!" She praised upon seeing the cauldron full of spell ingredients and then gets down to work at once.

"Rowena, wait…" Sam began, and then stopped, giving Mary a meaningful look as he silently asks her to bring Dean away. Mary nodded understandingly, catching his cue.

Mary: "Dean, do you want some juice?"

Dean: "Juice? No, I'm not thirsty…"

Mary: "Mummy's getting juice from the kitchen. Come with me, let's go!"

And she successfully guides Dean away.

"Ok. Tell me. What's going on?" Sam confronted Rowena.

"What are you talking about, giant?" She feigned ignorance.

"Dean. What's going on with Dean. And this curse – I've read up on a dozen over books about de-ageing spells but none of them really fits. Also, this cure that you're working on, fairy dusts; erumpent's horn… those were never the ingredients used for reversing de-ageing spells!" Sam pointed out heatedly.

Rowena gave a weary sigh. It is never easy to work with the Winchesters, not to mention trying to take any advantages of them - they're simply too sharp for her own good.

"These are not the ingredients to reverse a de-ageing spell, because it _wasn't_ a de-ageing spell. Not exactly anyway," Rowena told him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sam demanded.

"It means - Dean Winchester wasn't hit by a de-ageing spell. It was, an extremely, _wicked curse_ ," she rephrased.

Sam shook his head, not understanding.

"How is it a wicked curse when all it did was to turn Dean back into a four-year-old?" He questioned again.

"Well, that's some really refined magic involved, but don't you worry! Aunt Rowena will do her wee magic and you'll get your brother back in no time!" She reassured without further explanation and picks up another ingredient in inspection.

"Ok. You know what-" Sam took a quick swipe and the bowl of ingredients is off the table, away from the witch, "we are not doing anything unless you start talking."

Rowena looks up and sees a stubborn, serious face of a moose staring back at her and she rolls her eyes in disgruntled defeat.

"Fine, Samuel. What do you want to know?" She asked unenthusiastically.

"Well, first of all, what is this "Wicked Curse" that you're going on about?" Sam asked.

"It's a powerful, and vicious spell. Those hit by the curse would be trapped, in their own head; drowned, in memories of their worst nightmares. The lowest, most painful, and terrifying moments in their lives played over, and over, and over again, as though they are reliving every one of them in an endless, eternal cycle. Eventually, they will all be so miserable that they lose their will to live and then, finally, they'll rather take their own life than suffer another second of the curse…"

As Rowena describes the terrifying effect of the curse, Sam felt a tingling, hair-raising sense of déjà vu. He remembered back when he was held captive by the BMOL, he was hit by a spell of similar effect, and he remembered seeing all the most horrifying moments in his life, conjured up right before his very eyes… he remembered what it had done to him.

And now this curse that Dean has got, it sounds even worse than what he had had, as not only will Dean be remembering them, he will feel like he is reliving them all over again. Plus, if they're talking about Dean's worst experiences… Sam shudders to imagine what condition he'll be left in if he were to relive those horrors in one continuous, never-ending perpetuity.

"… It didn't happen though. Dean isn't suffering. He was just made a kid again," Sam said out loud, partly to reassure himself that the heinous scenario that Rowena just painted had most fortunately not been realised.

"Yes, because the curse was incomplete. I believe one of those "moments" came from the time when he was a wee boy, and somehow, it altered his mind and memories to that period and did not proceed with the next "moment" as it should have," Rowena theorised.

Sam considers what she had just said and the more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense. He remembered the devastating crying by young Dean when he first appeared. It was during the period of time when Dean had just lost his mother, which definitely qualifies as one of the "lowest, most painful, and terrifying moments" in his life.

However, Mary is back from the dead, so the pain did not last long for Dean. If he had been hit with the curse just a few months earlier, Sam will have to deal with a grief-stricken 4-year-old all on his own. Perhaps that (timing of the curse), and the fact that the curse was abridged, was a rare stroke of luck for them in this supposedly unfortunate event.

"But, I wouldn't promise that the curse would remain as it is without advancing any further, so…" Rowena made to get back the cauldron of spell ingredients from Sam while he is seemingly lost in thought. However, Sam quickly moves the cauldron out of her reach.

"That's not all. Tell me, what exactly is this spell that you're gonna brew? I've never seen anything like it. Also, why didn't the curse break when we kill the witch?" Sam continued probing.

"It's just a spell that would lift the curse and I'm not giving lessons to amateurs about the complexity of the magic involved!" Rowena complained loudly, throwing her hands up in the air in impatience.

Sam eyes the foxy witch and smells a trace of something in her manner of act.

"Fine. Then tell me one last thing. What's in it for you?" Sam questioned.

"What?" Rowena pretended to be uncomprehending but her eyes and body language have given her away, not that Sam needed those clues to tell otherwise - he knows her. Even though they might have joined hands to defeat the Darkness once upon a time, leopards just don't change their spots. It is simply too easy, too uncharacteristic for the proud, selfish witch to be so eager and enthusiastic to help, without even requesting for any remuneration. So something must be going on.

"Why are you doing this? Why help us? And don't tell me it's out of the goodness of your heart," Sam said bluntly.

Rowena leaned against the table as she considers him - deciding, whether to reveal the truth. Sam looks back with an adamant expression. _Winchesters!_ Rowena rolled her eyes again.

"This spell is an extraction spell. Before the witch died, she sealed all of her magic – her lifetime of magic - into this one curse. That is why the spell didn't break even after you killed her. It is advanced magic, designed for a final, ultimate revenge, and nothing your average de-ageing counter spell is able to fix. However, I believe the curse will be lifted once the magic binding to the curse is extracted from his body," Rowena finally revealed the entire truth.

"So this magic, you will be keeping it for yourself," Sam inferred.

"Clever boy, Samuel," Rowena smirked.

"How much magic will you gain?" Sam asked.

"Oh, just a couple hundred years of old-school hocus pocus. An icing on the cake really, compared to the kind of magic that I possess," Rowena said dismissively. "I believe I am worth the tip, in exchange for dear old brother, Dean?" she asked rhetorically, persuasively.

Sam furrowed his eyebrows in dilemma. Although Rowena may not be their outright enemy anymore, Sam isn't sure if giving her more power than she already has would be a sensible thing to do. The red-headed witch is aware of his dilemma, thus she decided to give him another prod in the right direction.

"Of course~ You could always go through every single spell book in this bunker to _maybe_ find another way, and then _maybe_ find all the right ingredients and mix them in exactly the right amount and, oh! pray hard in the meantime, that the curse doesn't worsen to its original intent," Rowena added sarcastically.

"So, are we doing this or not?" Rowena pushed for a final decision.

* * *

 **Writer's Random Rant: I've watched (and re-watched x5) both the season 12 gag reel and season 13 promos!~ As usual, the gag reel is super funny though it's too short for my liking~ (I feel like I can watch it for hours XD)  
** **And season 13! It's less than a month to the new season guys! (not that anyone needs reminding XD) Finally~~~! It'll be the absolute, perfect way to celebrate my end of mid-terms~ X)**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 11: Trust The Expert**


	11. Chapter 11: Trust The Expert

**Previously on Chapter 10: Wicked Curse…**

… **"So, are we doing this or not?" Rowena pushed for a final decision.**

 **Mid-terms are oooverrr~~ Woo! Still a lot to do but decided to put this up first~ Next chapter should be the last chapter of the main story (yup, there'll be a short side story chapter after that)**

 **I haven't written it out yet so I don't know when I'll be posting(not so soon)~ But it is really hilarious XD (at least it is while in my head~) Hopefully I'll be able to translate that successfully into words~^^**

* * *

Chapter 11  
Trust The Expert

"… Yes… Let's do this," Sam sighed, the pros have clearly outweighed the cons in this case. And it's not like they hadn't made much extremer, and much more reckless deals for each other's' sake…

"Excellent. Now, shall we get started?" Rowena requested for the ingredients, and Sam grudgingly hands them over.

Dean and Mary come back to the library while Rowena is preparing for the spell.

"Aunt Rowena, what are you doing?" Dean asked curiously.

"It's a special, magic formula. I'll let you try some when I'm done~" Rowena said cheerily.

"It has to be consumed?" Sam inquired unhappily.

"That's right. This little devil will force every last trace of magic out of his system!" Rowena said confidently.

* * *

"Alrighty, here you go," Rowena places a bowl of murky solution in front of Dean. Eyeing the dubious liquid with a suspicious frown, he picks it up and gives it a testing whiff.

"Urggg! Yuck! It's awful!" Dean leaned far away from the spell concoction while pinching his nose in disgust.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Mary said encouragingly as she held the cup to her nose. With a tremendous effort, she managed to keep a poker face, though her eyes were watering a little from the revolting stench.

"Dean, let's play rock, paper, scissors and the loser has to finish that drink," Sam challenged.

"No. I'm not drinking it," Dean shook his head firmly.

"Rowena, is there any other way?" Mary asked.

"We can always tie him up and force it down his throat..." Rowena began, "... or not~" but changes course as two pairs of incredulous eyes glared her way.

"Dean~ How about this?" Rowena turned to the lad, "You finish this potion like a good wee boy and I'll tell you more about Castiel," Rowena offered.

Dean's eyes lit up at the unexpectedly attractive proposal.

"My angel, Cas-tiel?" Dean clarified.

"That's right. I'll even let you two meet up and have a little chat," she sweetened the pot even further.

"I'll get to meet him too?!" Dean squealed. "Mum! Mum! I'll get to see my angel!" He thrilled and jumps up and down excitedly on the spot.

"But only... if you finish this - till the very-last-drop," Rowena reminded him on his end of the bargain.

Dean purses his lips for a moment before agreeing: "Ok."

He lifts the cup to his lips and his eyebrows make a dent in the middle at the overwhelming scent.

"You promise he'll come see me?" Dean asked, to reconfirm.

"I promise," Rowena replied with a winking smile.

Sam and Mary felt a twinge of pity towards young Dean at the disingenuous promise of a deal. There is no need for the deal at all, seeing as how Dean could summon Castiel himself, much better than Rowena could. However, both kept their thoughts to themselves as they see Dean forces the bowl of nauseating potion down his throat.

"And that reminds me – where is that fallen angel of yours in this whole, messy fiasco?" Rowena asked, wondering why had she been the first contact, over their trustable angel friend.

"Cas is busy… And this isn't his area of expertise," Sam replied simply.

"You are right~ Magic requires talent, and experience and therefore you need someone like, _yours truly_ ," she gestured to herself with a smug little smile, "master, of the intricacies, of high witchcraft - competent and ready-to-help~" she boasted flagrantly.

"Yuck!" Dean repeated as he wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve, his face scrunching up in repugnance. The bowl in his hand, though, has been dutifully emptied.

"Meco tou meco tou! Ouy rea lepexdel romf oury tosh!" Rowena chanted quickly.

"What are you…?" Dean stopped mid-question when he felt a sudden, peculiar sensation inside his body.

"Mum?" Dean called out.

"Dean, how are you doing?" Mary hurried to his side.

"I feel funny…" Dean said and in the next moment, a purplish smoke starts to emit from beneath his skin, all over his body.

"Cemo ot em!" Rowena shouted and all of the smoke flew upwards in a swirl and then rushes right at Rowena, who embraces them with open arms. In a matter of seconds, the smoke disappears into the witch. Her eyes rolled back into her skull for a moment and when they roll back out again, she had a winning smile plastered across her face.

"Dean?" Mary called out.

"Mummy?" Dean replied, looking a little dazed. Sam and Mary's hearts both sink a little at his single word of address.

"Rowena, it didn't work!" Sam accused.

Just then, young Dean let out a huge, prolonged yawn and his eyes begin to droop. The two of them look back at him curiously – didn't he only just woke up from a full slumber?

"Mum, I'm sleepy," Dean attested, his body swaying slightly from the sudden drowsiness.

Sam and Mary immediately go to support him on either side and carefully lead him to a chair.

"What's happening?" Sam directed the question at the witch.

"I've extracted almost all of the magic – only a te~eny weeny bit remains. He'll just have to sleep it off and when he wakes up, everything will be back to normal~" Rowena reassured.

"Are you sure?" Sam demanded.

"Of course~ You can trust the expert," Rowena laid the tip of her hand pompously to her chest and then goes and pick up her purse.

"You're leaving? But…! He's…" Sam started.

"He'll be fine, Samuel~" Rowena waved her hand dismissively.

"Mummy… Sleepy…" Dean grunted in an incomplete sentence.

"It's ok, Dean. You can sleep," Mary told him in a soothing voice.

Meanwhile, Rowena is already packed up and heading up the stairs.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Rowena said to Sam. "And Mary, pleasure meeting you too," she said before leaving through the door, winking in clear delight.

Sam wonders how much power she had received – it seems like quite a considerable amount, for her to be in such high spirits – and he feels unsure whether he should be disturbed by it. However, his pondering is interrupted by Dean's whining.

"I don't wanna sleep… Wanna play…" Dean complained while fighting against the untimely drowsiness.

"You can play after you wake up," Mary said.

Dean closes his eyes and didn't open them for a few seconds.

"But I just woke up…" he grumbled.

"Mum, let's get him to bed," Sam suggested and he and Mary pulled Dean up from his seat, with much effort, as he is falling all over the place, not being able to support his own weight. In the end, Sam decided it would be much easier to haul him onto his back and transport him to his room via piggyback.

"Mmm…" He groaned and shifted restlessly on his bed after being let down by Sam.

"Mummy?" He called out with his eyes shut.

"I'm right here," Mary sat down beside his bed and held his hand.

"Mummy, don't leave me…" he slurred out his words.

"Don't worry baby, I'm not going anywhere. You can sleep now," Mary whispered gently.

"G'night, mummy," Dean said tiredly.

"Good night, Dean," she replied, and leans in for a peck on his forehead, "Angels' watching over you..." she breathed her usual parting line. (Though "angel" is an entirely different concept than it used to be)

Dean smiled a little.

"Night, Sammy..." he then mumbled.

"Night, Dean," Sam said softly and he couldn't help himself but reaches out to ruffle his hair.

Hopefully, Dean will be back to his normal, adult self by the time he wakes up. Nevertheless, Sam and Mary had greatly enjoyed their time with boy Dean - a sensitive, thoughtful, yet bubbly, 4-year-old of a child. His innocence, sincerity and pure-heartedness made him irresistibly charming in a different way than his cheeky, adult self. Young Dean will definitely be missed by them both.

Dean mumbled incoherently for a bit more and then finally, he is quiet. (*This line will be referenced in the side story)

* * *

 **I've had scenes of the coming chapter in my head since many chapters ago and I kept revisiting them even though it's still chapters away cause they're just so funny and interesting to me XD**

 **Have such a mixed feeling towards this story coming to an end though… On the one hand I'll like to finish it sooner so that I can read the whole thing in one shot and enjoy it as a reader, but on the other, I'll be missing this fic when it does finally end~**

 **Writer's Random Rant: SEASON 13~!~!~! Can't wait! XD**

 **Coming soon… Chapter 12: Dean Is… Back? X)**


	12. Chapter 12: Dean Is Back?

**Previously on Chapter 11: Trust The Expert…**

… **Dean mumbled incoherently for a bit more and then finally, he is quiet.**

 **The last chapter for the main story~~! I wasn't planning for it but it's awesome that this just happens to be the 12** **th** **chapter which is where this story is set in~ ^^ (There will be a short sequel chap next which is really the last last chap for this fic)**

 **Didn't expect it to be this long when I first started, but then - God is in the details! Had several scenes that only came to me while writing and it made the story flow so much better~**

 **Ps: I was thinking of Samantha's tweet when I wrote the furniture line XD**

* * *

Chapter 12  
Dean Is… Back?

"Mum, why don't you get some rest? I'll wait for Dean," Sam suggested as Mary's eyelids droop for the third time.

Mary stretches her back wearily and glances at her elder son, who is currently sleeping like a drunk baby.

"Alright then. Call me when he wakes up," Mary yawned as she stood up from her seat.

"Sure," Sam agreed easily.

Mary smiled at her younger son and rested her hand on his shoulder momentarily as she got up and goes to her room.

Sam lays back on his seat and his eyes naturally fell upon his unconsciousness brother.

It had been such a bizarre experience. The two of them have sticked together almost their entire life and Sam would have thought that he has seen practically every side of Dean, and vice versa. Never did he expect that there was still a whole new facet of Dean that he knew absolutely nothing about.

Thinking back, after excluding the life-threatening aspect of the curse, he is really glad that he got to know young Dean - the Dean as a child, before he had to shoulder the weight of his family legacy; of the supernatural world; and of the billions of lives on Chuck's green earth. He got to see Dean in his purest form; in his essence, before the dark side of the world invaded his consciousness...

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _"I'm gonna be like Batman when I grow up! I'm gonna save the world from a~ll the bad guys!" Dean declared while jumping around doing his Batman moves. Sam smiled a knowing smile._

 _[I guess your childhood dream came true then.] Sam thought to himself. He already did save the world._

 _"What do you wanna be, Sammy?" Dean then asked. Sam thought about it for a second. Despite all the terrible price that came along with saving the world, he knows that, in the end, they will still choose to do what they are meant to do._

 _"I'm gonna be Superman. We'll be a team and save the world together." Sam spoke the truth._

 _"Yea! We do that!" Dean grinned widely at the thought._

 _Ends flashback_

* * *

Sam lingered in the room for a while longer before leaving for his laptop outside. It also seems like a good idea to check out on more spell books, now that he knows what to look for. Although he does (somehow) trust Rowena's expertise in the area, it is always good to plan for a backup - just in case.

In the library, a spread of items littered the desk where Sam sits: his open laptop; phone; beer; and a heavy-looking book. He is flipping through the yellowing pages of the aged spell book when he hears footsteps approaching - familiar footsteps.

Anticipation rises up within Sam and he looks up just in time to see Dean strolling in.

"Dean!" He called out.

"Hey," Dean greeted back.

Sam stood up from his seat, his eyes never leaving his brother as he checks him out from head to toe.

"How... how are you feeling?" He asked testily.

"A good night's sleep and I'm ready to roll!" Dean replied offhandedly.

Sam takes it that, seeing as how Dean has not literally started rolling on the ground, he is really back - the badass, adult Dean Winchester.

"Thank god," he sighed in relief as he went to give Dean a brief welcome hug.

"Uhh... Ok... What was that for?" Dean eyed him funnily after he released him.

"... You don't remember?" Sam caught on to Dean's cluelessness.

"Err.. remember what, exactly?" Dean inquired.

"The witch. She cursed you, remember?"

"Ya, and then we killed her, end of story," Dean said.

Sam stared at him as his mind started reeling. Rowena had not mentioned about amnesia associated with curing of the curse, but then she may not know it too, as this wasn't just your average typical witch curse.

"Do you mind?" Dean said, breaking Sam's train of thoughts.

Sam looks at him blankly, and he lifts up his left arm to which Sam is unconsciously holding on to.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Sam asked, after awkwardly letting go of the arm.

"Err... We ended the witch - came home - got knocked out a couple hours - and now we're up," Dean told him. "And I'm starving," Dean added as he plops down on one of the chairs and lifted the glass of beer hopefully, pouting in disappointment when he finds it near empty.

"I think we still have some spaghetti meatballs up for cooking. - Thanks," Dean grinned expectantly at his brother.

Sam raises his eyebrows. So Dean wants him to prep for their food today, huh. Well, he can do that - it can be a "welcome back" gesture for Dean.

"Alright, wait here," Sam told him and then heads towards the kitchen.

Dean's gaze follows him till he's out of sight. He waited a few more seconds before turning his eyes to the table, fixing them on a single object...

As Sam heads for the kitchen, he remembers his promise to Mary. He then halts and turns around, going in the opposite direction where Mary's room is. He was just thinking of having to tell Mary about Dean's amnesia when he passes by the entrance to the library again. He throws an idle glance inside and spots Dean hunching over, looking intently at something.

"Dean?" He called out. He wasn't planning to make a stop but there seems to be an aura of secrecy around Dean that triggered his senses.

He watches on as Dean jumps at his voice and attempts to indiscreetly hide the object by his side. A memory of young Dean attempting to hide his sliced fingers appeared before his mind's eye. The curiosity within Sam kindles further at his suspicious act.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked as he walks to his side.

"Nothing. Where's my spaghetti meatballs?" Dean tried to steer the conversation.

Sam raised his eyebrows briefly before swooping down and snatching the object from his hand.

"Hey...!" Dean shouted in protest.

"Why are you on my phone?" Sam accused and moves it out of reach as Dean makes an unsuccessful nab at it.

"Just looking up stuff on the internet," Dean quickly said.

"Uh huh," Sam eyed him suspiciously as he turns on his phone.

"You were in.. my Gallery. Why?" Sam questioned out loud.

"I wasn't. Must have got in by accident," Dean replied nonchalantly.

Sam looks down at his phone again and the first thing in his album is the video of young Dean doing his forfeit dance and then he finally realises...

"Wait... You do remember, don't you?" And a smile starts to form at the corner of his lips.

"No, I don't," Dean denied too quickly.

"Were you trying to delete your videos? The er.. Batman moves tutorials and..."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Show it to me..." Dean said while reaching out for the phone.

"I'll send you," Sam smiled while keeping it out of his reach.

"My phone's dead," Dean said.

"Go charge it then," Sam countered.

"Alright.. ok, give it here." Dean curled his fingers in beckoning, dropping his façade as he got seen through by Sam.

"You were cute," Sam grinned.

"Shut up," Dean snapped back, as though it was an insult rather than a compliment.

"What! You were!" Sam said as he played the video of kid Dean.

"Ok. That's it." Dean rises from his seat, along with the heat to his face, and he tried again to grab the phone that contains some very unsightly contents that should be erased from the face of the earth.

Sam held the phone high above his head beyond Dean's reach.

"Stop it..." Sam pushes at the in-coming Dean.

"Give it to me!..." Dean demanded, nearly climbing over Sam in order to get to the phone.

"Get off me...!" Sam refused to relent while trying to throw off his persistent brother.

Unnoticed by either of them, Mary has just walked into the picture, and her heart sinks at the scene before her.

"Oh no... It didn't work, did it? Sam, we have to call Rowena back!" Mary naturally assumed when she came across the childish fight display by her two huge sons.

"What? No... mum, I'm really me! Not... young me..." Dean finally steps away from Sam as he assured Mary of his full recovery.

"... Dean?" Mary took a minute to take in that information.

"Hey, mum," Dean greeted, lowering his voice intentionally to sound like the grown-up he said he is.

Mary stared at him for a second longer, and then a bright smile appears across her face as she goes forward to embrace her older son.

"Thank god... Thank god you're back," Mary sighed in relief.

Dean smiled and hugged her back.

"Really? I thought you like me better as a kid," Dean said half-jokingly.

Mary pulls back to take a good look at him.

"You are a kid," she replied, "You're my kid," she raises a hand and gave a light tug on his ear while lifting one end of her lips in a possessive smile.

"You may be taller, and stronger... and older than me," she said with a start, "but, I'll always be your mum," she told him irrevocably.

"Ok, mum," Dean rose his hands in mock surrender.

Mary smiled at him and then she suddenly remembered something.

"Wait... if you're back then.. what were you guys doing before...?" Mary trailed off in confusion.

And that reminded Dean. He turns to glare at Sam, who has his phone wrapped securely in his fist.

"I mean, I know I said you can play when you wake up, but..." Mary continued jokingly.

"Sam's got something of mine," Dean snarled. "Now, hand it over," he stretches his hand out demandingly.

"Actually, it's mine," Sam refuted.

Dean makes a sudden swiping movement but Sam swings his phone out of his reach again.

"Ok... we can do this the easy way, or the hard way..." Dean threatened as he turns his whole body around to face Sam, cautioning him with his hands held up in between them.

"Tough. Sure you won't be kicking the floor, screaming when I take you down?" Sam gibbed.

"Wow, winning a fight against a 4-year-old, you must be so proud!" Dean exclaimed sarcastically, though, it is easy to see the embarrassment on his face. "Give it before I break your hand," he said again.

"Sorry Batman, no deal," Sam said while casually tapping the play button on the Batman video.

"Sam Winchester you...! Give it to me!" Dean lunges forward to reach for the phone.

But somehow, during the struggle, the volume button got pushed, and hold, and the kiddy-talk got louder.

[...Get this! Aaand this! Ha, you can't run from me! I'm Batman!...]

"Turn it off!" Dean yelled in chagrin.

"... Stop it...!" Sam shouted back and the two of them nearly stumble over the chairs as they hit the furniture.

Mary stood in awe while they fought. She had seen the two of them wrestling just hours ago, but that was with young Dean. She is definitely not expecting the same thing to play out with her two completely adult sons. But nevertheless, that's what's happening. And this is yet another new side of them that she only just gets to see.

"Guys! Guys...! You're destroying the furniture...!" She eventually came forward to pull them apart. Dean finally relinquished at Mary's request, the both of them panting a little from the struggle.

"You know, I hate you so much," Dean said it calmly to Sam's face.

"Mmm... No, that's not what you said," Sam reminded with a smirk.

"That's what I'm saying now! For Chuck's sake..." Dean growled and runs his hand down his face in annoyance.

"Hey, alright, let's put this conversation on hold," Mary suggested, seeing as how they won't be coming to an agreement any time soon.

"Anyway, I need to get back to that "Roadside" motel before they throw my things out. Wasn't expecting this long a visit when I drop by with those pie and beers," Mary informed them.

The look on both their faces fell a little at Mary's words. She's leaving. As they knew she would. Like what Sam had thought, the pinky promise with young Dean was just to placate the boy - it didn't mean anything. And they shouldn't have expected anything in the first place. Dean is cured. Everything is back to normal now, whatever normal means to the Winchesters.

"Oh. Right. Yea, of course," Dean said hastily, keeping his expression light and neutral. Both Sam and Mary noted the change in Dean's reaction. It is the most pronounced yet - the way that this adult Dean responded as compared to the little one.

If it was the young Dean before, he would have whined and cried and demanded Mary to stay, or to go with her, either way as long as his family stay together. Maybe he'll even throw in a pair of puppy-dog eyes for luck. But Dean doesn't have the excuse of being a four-year-old right now, and the pride of a full-grown adult male forbade any of those childish and immature demonstrations. Mary had told them she needed time, and space, and they should accept and respect that, like the sensible and independent grown-ups that they are.

But Mary knows better now. The suppressed longings of her sons for her presence in their lives... The thoughtfulness behind those unsaid yearnings - to get to know her better; to build a relationship that they never had... Despite their own needs and wants, they never try to force it upon her, or pressure her into their world. All they did was kept the door open - wide open, welcoming her, any time that she's ready, to come back. To come home. Truthfully, even now, she can't say for certain that she is entirely ready, though the talk with Sam before did help a lot. It is time - to be a mother again.

"Good thing I booked the place for an extra day so we'll get there in time," Mary said.

"... We?" Sam noticed her choice of word. And both boys look at her in confusion.

"Guess I don't have to worry about having my stuff thrown out if I move back to my own room," she said with a shrug.

"Mum, you're coming back?" Dean asked in surprise.

"I did promise," she raised her right picky, "and also, if you still want me to..."

"Of course we do," Sam answered immediately.

"It's settled then, you're stuck with me again," Mary joked.

All three of them smiled.

It wasn't the same unconcealed glee like kid Dean, but it still put on a boyish feature on his adult face.

"So Dean, sweetie, wanna give mummy a ride?" Mary asked in a tone, her lips lifting into a mischievous smile.

"Wha... Mum, not you too!" Dean changed his expression at once, to one of controlled irritation and outrage in protest to Mary's teasing, while Sam grinned even wider. He shares a "high-five" look with Mary for their spontaneous camaraderie in messing with Dean.

"Let's just go," Dean rolled his eyes in defeat as he turns towards the exit while Sam and Mary follow suit. A hand moves up to hold on to Dean's arm as though guiding him the way.

"Dude, I can walk on my own!" Dean snapped as he throws the hand off.

"Right…" Sam muttered. It was only for a few hours but he had already made it a habit to watch out for young Dean. He even managed to get used to how much clingier the kid Dean was, constantly holding or pulling at his or Mary's hand. Also, the kid loves to substitute walking with running and skipping, hence the need to hold on to him while he's on the move, and stop him before he touches something dangerous. And that reminded Sam…

"You alright with driving?" Sam asked as they walk towards the garage.

"Why not?" Dean said incredulously.

Sam looks down at his bandaged fingers in response.

"It's fine," Dean replied with a twitch of his hand.

"Cause, you know, I can always go get my Batmobile," Sam teased again, making both him and Mary laugh while Dean held back a punch.

"Stop it, seriously!" Dean exclaimed.

"Why so serious?" Sam quoted and Dean looks so done.

"Thanks for these by the way," Dean said sarcastically while he raised his injured hand into the air.

"What?! I didn't ask you to grab the sword by its blade!" Sam said ridiculously.

"Yea, I should be glad you didn't let me shoot myself!" Dean complained.

"You can talk! You let me jumped off a shed once and broke my arm," Sam countered.

"How did that happen?" Mary asked curiously.

Dean: "Oh, don't get me started…"

And from that, the two of them began to flood Mary with their childhood stories, mostly in a way that would embarrass the other. Mary listened with great interest, laughing away at the boys bickering and story-telling as they got in the car and on the road.

And that's the way it's supposed to be.

~ The End ~

* * *

 **I've been wanting to read this since end of last sem~ I prefer reading more than writing my own stories but unfortunately, I can't just do the former without the latter›‹ *Sighs***

 **I'm gonna go read this story in one shot now - from the beginning! Woo!~ Finally~^^ No patience to wait till after the short sequel chapter~ ;p** **Why am I excited to read my own story?! Silly me! XD**

 **Writer's Random Rant: I'm ok with Season 12 but Season 13!~!~! XD XD XD Absolutely love all the episodes so far and can't wait for more X)**

 **Spoiler for sequel chapter: It will be focussing mainly on Sam and another character that hasn't appeared before in this story~ I'm not saying who but y'all probably guessed it alr since I'm so predictable~ ^^**

 **Ps: I'll probably only post (or even start writing) that chap in December, after all my finals… If I survived till then ›‹**

 **Coming soon…** **Sequel: A Phone Call Away**


	13. Sequel: A Phone Call Away

**Hi! It's December and finals are over (finally)~ Yay!~~ XD So, here is the last chapter~ :) ›‹ :') ^^  
Ps: It's a short one~**

 **Fun Fact: I didn't have this sequel in mind right from the beginning - only thought of it while writing about them mentioning Castiel in the story~**

 **Note: The chapter has made reference to the last line of Chapter 11,** _ ***Dean mumbled incoherently for a bit more and then finally, he is quiet.***_

* * *

Sequel  
A Phone Call Away

"Ring! Ring! Ring!..." Sam pulls out his phone from his back pocket and is mildly surprised to see the caller ID.

"Cas, hey. Everything's alright?" He asked as he puts his phone to his ear.

"I'm fine. Are you alright?" Cas asked hastily.

"Yes, of course," Sam said in reassurance.

"What about Dean? And Mary?" Cas continued asking.

Sam raises his head to glance over at his mum and brother through the glass walls of the gas station's convenience store.

"They're fine too. Why'd you ask?" Sam wondered as he heard a sense of panic in Cas's voice.

"I tried calling Dean but it wouldn't get through," Cas said, not exactly answering the question.

"His phone's dead," Sam informed him, remembering what Dean had told him while they were fighting over his phone. "Why, do you need help with something?" Sam asked helpfully.

"No. I thought something happened to you guys…" Cas said in slight confusion. "Are you sure you're alright? And Dean, and Mary?" Cas asked again.

"Yea, I'm sure. I am looking at them right now," Sam assured him, seeing clearly through the transparent glass at the mother and son who're shopping for some road snacks.

They seemed to be deciding over how many beef jerkies they should get. From where he stands, he sees Dean holding on to three packets and Mary another two. He wishes idly that Mary, at least, would have the common sense to know that five packets are way too many for the three of them in this relatively short road trip.

"Cas, what's wrong? Why are you asking?" Sam asked again.

"I don't know… I thought you were in trouble. I heard Dean's prayer and he sounded.. different. He didn't sound like himself. Why was he praying in the first place? Why didn't he just call?" Cas said in absolute confusion. It's no secret that Dean wasn't the "praying-type", as said so by Dean himself.

"Dean prayed to you? When?... What did he pray for?" Sam answered with a series of questions of his own.

"It was a few hours ago. I was in the middle of something then so I didn't call back immediately. Dean said… He asked me to keep his family safe; he prayed that his father, mother, brother and he, will always be together, never separating again. But Sam, your father… Dean knows he is dead. And not just that. The way he was praying, it was like he didn't know me…" Cas expressed his befuddlement through all his hesitated pauses in this lengthy recounting of his peculiar experience with Dean.

Sam glances fondly at his older brother across the gas station. It must have been young Dean who had prayed to "his angel, Castiel" before getting knocked out by the de-magicing effect.

"Something happened earlier on. Dean was cursed by a witch while we were hunting…"

"Dean was cursed?!" Cas repeated in alarm.

"He's fine now. We got Rowena to cure him. It's… quite a weird story. I'll tell you about it when we meet. Actually… I can show you. I've got some clips of the curse taking it's toll, though Dean'll probably kill me if I do…" Sam chuckled at the thought.

"Ok… I'll be returning to the bunker, probably tomorrow. I'll see you then," Cas told Sam, curiosity filling his voice at the tone that Sam was using.

"Cya, Cas," Sam said, and the line got cut off.

Dean and Mary left the store with a huge bag full of beef jerky, and Dean, with a triumph glow on his face, grinning widely from ear to ear. Sam leans himself against the Impala as he waits for Dean and mum to make their way here. So this is what young Dean was mumbling about right before he fell asleep, praying for the safety and happiness of their little family.

And he'll get his wish, kind of. Mary has decided to move back to the bunker, and tomorrow, Cas will return too. Their little family (or what was left of it), coming together once more. :)

~ The End ~

* * *

" **My Dean Is 4" is officially completed~~! This is the first and only chapter that I actually wrote out (on paper), instead of directly typing into the laptop. Feels kind of nice, actually. Though, I don't think I'll do it again - for convenience sake~**

 **Thank you to all who have read! And a special thanks to Kathy, SeeleyDeanDinozzo, chosey, The Demigod Gryffindor, Guest, dg sangita, Dreamsnake, dlk, melissa3636, JaliceJelsa4eva & rainbow461830 for your wonderful reviews! ‹3 (Hope I didn't miss out anyone :P) I'm always amazed that there are people who like these fics like I do~ X)**

 **If I were to review myself, I would say that I love the plot and the characters' portrayal but the writing is just bearable~ So, kudos to you guys who managed to look past the plain and erroneous writing and enjoy the story~ XD**

 **Have around 7-10 stories in my mind now that I think will last me for 2018/19 even without any new ones coming in (cause I'm a slow writer, and an even slower editor)~ ›‹  
One of them is set pre-series, inspired by "My Dean Is 4", as I was thinking of John's reaction to young Dean, who was mentioned, but never appeared in this story. Don't know when I'll finish it though, since I'm writing a few stories at once~ (I'd rather do one at a time but wellz… I guess I'm not in full control of my brain and its random muses ›‹)**

 **Anw, it's been a fun journey with this story~ ^^ Happy holiday everyone!~~ :)**


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